Burning Roses
by SilverQuick
Summary: I would like those of you who love my story and are looking foreward to a sequel to read this little note. It is short and not a waste of your time, I assure you.
1. Prologue, Chapter one and two

*Burning Roses.*  
  
*A Beauty and The Beast story.*  
  
1 Rating: Pg-13  
  
Pairings: None yet.  
  
Genre: Romance, Humor, Drama. And action ( I think).  
  
Disclaimer: Own nothing. Plot only. Sort Of…  
  
Summary: Serena(I'm using the dub names.,) and Relena are sold to the Beast by their father. Some really strange things happen. Go figure.  
  
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Prologue.  
  
Kenneth had once been a proud and rich man, one of the many Noble men of England. But, as time and change had proved, those things will fade like the last vestiges of a dream just afore the dawn.  
  
Either way his family had been prestigious and well known to their fellow country -men.  
  
But, subtract one mother from the picture, add the misery of a father as well as three children and divide 2/3'rds of their wealth and you have something very different from what you started out with.  
  
Of course, Kenneth was a smart man. He figured he'd quit while he was ahead and move to the country where money was less and he would still look well off.  
  
So, with a nary a by your leave to his children, he packed up and hauled out. He'd heard tell of a rich prince seeking a bride and heard the clinking of money. He had two eligible daughters worthy enough of a prince.  
  
What he didn't understand was why no one else had bothered to sell…erm.. see their own daughters off to a happy life as a princess.  
  
Now, as he toiled through the forest about surrounding this fables prince's land, he was coming to realize why very little had been known about him.  
  
Plus, he was almost certain the forest was alive and laughing at him. Either that or it was his stomach. The last time he'd eaten was oh… two days ago. It was a very big forest.  
  
But, I'm sure you don't particularly care for this fact, reader, as it holds no interest for you. Very well, I shall add a new element.  
  
By now, Kenneth was positive something was wrong with the forest. As well, no natural forest should be able to giggle and move about. Like that shrub over there. It had been over here a moment ago. Now it was over there.  
  
Kenneth smiled at himself, blaming it on his imagination. Lost the smile. Fished around for it, then found it and plastered it back on. But it had lost the self- mocking air. The bush had moved again. He was no botanist, but he was very sure plants were not supposed to be able to do that.  
  
But, greed had a way of overriding fear, and that was exactly the case with Kenji. In fact, the only thing that exceeded his greed was his bad judgment. As proven by his move to the country. Go west stupid man, go west.  
  
Ahem, so anyway.  
  
Kenneth jumped, startled by the sudden sound of a twig snapping. Then proceeded to tremble in fear. The afore mentioned twig, hadn't been a twig, and he hadn't stepped on it.  
  
He turned around slowly. Slowly because fear had paralyzed him and because I just want to play up the drama. And also because it would be rather stupid to have his turn around fast, because you and I both know that that just never happens in the movies. Or for that matter in writing.  
  
Oh, back to the story…  
  
Kenneth's eyes were immediately attacked by a sight so horrible so fearsome, that a little wet spot began to form on the pant's of his legs. The little spot began to grow as he screamed……. Suffice to say, the sight scared the piss out of him.  
  
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Chapter one.  
  
Yes, reader, I realize I left you at a cliffhanger. And I know you are getting restless. So, to pacify you, I shall start the plot. You have no idea how you wound me by being bored. Ingrate.  
  
I would like to take this time to introduce you to the offspring of the coward.  
  
The oldest: His name is Darien. He is very stupid, stupid enough for us to ignore him because, well, there is really nothing interesting about a man that some how missed evolution and was stuck somewhere between an ape and a slug. For a scientist, that is if you happen to be one, this might be interesting. But, I as a humanitarian, digress. So please stop poking the poor Mamoru with that. You're toying with my appetite.  
  
The middle child: Her fault does not lie in greed or cowardice. No, she is far more interested in dreams and airhead imaginings pertaining to a prince riding in on a white charger and sweeping her away. Not like a broom, mind you. I should clear up this fact that she is rather dense. However, someone up top seems to like her. She is beautiful. Legs right up to her neck. And as many a scientist (mostly men, but a few women have agreed and found this fact to be self evident) have discovered, a lovely woman can bend several laws of physics and other such things. This one was no exception. Oh yeah, her name is Relena.  
  
And last, but certainly not least: Sadly, not half as good looking as Relena, but what she lacked in looks she made up for in brains. Serena did not inherit any of her father's traits. Rather, she inherited her maiden aunt's on her mother's side. Such as… well, brains. Often told to shut up. (Both Serena and the aunt.)  
  
Actually, Serena is her middle name. Her mum made a mistake, thinking hey, the other one was a beauty won't she be one too? Well, she named the kid Beauty. Thus creating a great basis for insults and other such verbal jabs. Needless to say, she found them quite annoying and decided to do away with them. Thus, her name is now Serena.  
  
Alright then, now that you know who's who and, in Darien's case, what's what….. yeah, anyway.  
  
Now, shall we see what said off spring are doing? I do believe we shall.  
  
As all sibling rivalry goes, these three were no exception. Well, actually, Serena was watching the fight with morbid fascination. As any older, or younger sibling, can tell you, these fights provide great entertainment, and well, Serena was rather bored.  
  
The object of the fight, which was looking to launch into a full out fist brawl much to Serena's interest, was none other then one of Relena's fantasy novels; Darien wanted her to help. She wanted to read. Now.  
  
And frankly, Relena had a way with words, so of course, she'd be winning. This had nothing to do with Darien's I.Q. Really.  
  
Serena was chewing on her fingernail in suspense, preparing for the final battle of the war.  
  
"I don't HAVE to work because you say I do. You're not my father." Relena pointed out slowly.  
  
Darien scowled, "Yes, but while he's away I'm in charge."  
  
Serena didn't feel like saying "Uh, no, Actually, Father said I was in charge." The fight was her first priority, and if it got here out of working far be it from her to stop it. It would only result in mutual pain.  
  
"No you're not. He didn't say you were."  
  
Good thing they forgot she was there, otherwise she'd have some serious problems on her hands.  
  
"I'm still the oldest, therefore what I say goes." To make his point he ripped the innocent book from Relena's hands and ripped it down the binding, showing off muscles as he did so. Muscles in place of brains… go figure. Though one had to wonder how he got them as the only thing he ever did was sit around chucking orders to the two girls.  
  
Poor book. It's only crime being a fantasy novel in the wrong hands at the wrong time and place.  
  
" You do realize, " Serena began but was cut off by an Indignant Relena on the peace path; she did not believe in violence. Books. Yep. They did this to her. Blame it on them.  
  
"YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!!!" Of course, she could make any amount of threats with her voice as long as her body stayed out of it. So, when she reached for a loaf of bread intent on doing breadily harm to Darien's person, warning bells were going off in Serena's mind.  
  
Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you looked at it, their father burst in the door at that moment just before Serena grabbed the bread from Relena's hand where it had been positioned one Darien's head. It was a hard loaf.  
  
Things slowed to a halt as three pairs of eyes took in their father's form. He was :  
  
Very Pale  
  
Very wet (in more ways then one)  
  
Very scared  
  
Scheming  
  
Seeing dollar signs for some odd reason.  
  
  
  
He stalked over to Serena and grabbed her small form by the shoulders, "Bloody hell, couldn't you live up to your genetics?"  
  
Confusion set upon Serena as he let her drop and walked away, rubbing his forehead in thought. She stared at his back, narrowing her eyes.  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
The man whirled around, looking much like a child who had just broken the cookie jar his hand had been in moments ago.  
  
This only heightened her suspicion to a blazing level.  
  
"What. Did. You. DO?" She gritted, now certain that she had everyone's attention. Three pairs of eyes narrowed at their father, one knowing that something was wrong the other two following her lead.  
  
"I told him you were pretty, I'll just have to send Relena in your place." Now, he was babbling. Walking in circles with two annoyed glares scorching the skin they touched, and one glare that seemed to be trying to figure out how many slices of fish bait she could cut from his liver.  
  
"What do you mean 'send Relena in your place'? What did you do? And who's 'Him'?" Darien was having a brief moment of inspiration.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere! You can't sell me off like a cow to the market." Relena huffed.  
  
"Actually, that would be lamb to the slaughter." Serena, putting her two bits in leaned back on her heels and pierced the air around her father with a glare to rival a school mistress's.  
  
The other girl seemed to pale. Those cute little lamb's being led along to a slaughter house being the stuff nightmares were made of. What with those big, round, dewy brown eyes and those fluffy little tails…  
  
Kenneth scrambled to make an excuse for his mistake, "Well, I told him your sister was pretty and that she would marry him (for a price, my but he pays a lot). But, I embellished and well, you'll have to go in her place. He's a prince, Relena, You'll l..like him. He lives in a creepy gothic, but perfectly romantic, castle in the forest, which, by the way is enchanted… And, he'll be sending for you soon enough."  
  
He didn't need to say anything more then the word prince. Relena had already gone all starry eyed and giggly. She was making Serena's stomach do cart wheels. Also, Serena had noted the slight hesitation in his voice over the 'you l..like him' part.  
  
Obviously Relena had noticed it too, because, "But, you can't just sell me like that? How will I survive? "  
  
"Yeah, what's the catch?" Serena waited patiently.  
  
"Uh…well… he's not exactly… ah, Human."  
  
Relena wailed, a long string of 'it's not fair' running together to form a high screeching note.  
  
Cringing from the assault on her ear drums, Serena stuffed a chunk of the bread she still had into the girl's mouth.  
  
"Dad. You're literally selling your own daughter to her death. I find that detestable."  
  
Kenneth suddenly smiled a sly smile, "All right. Then I'll just have to send you with her now wont I? Between your brains and her looks… I'd say you'd stay alive for a month or two."  
  
"A month?" Relena squeaked.  
  
Oh, I forgot to mention that Relena's voice was a master -piece. Naturally high and hard on the ears, she could lower it to a pitch that would leave men on their knees.  
  
At the moment, she was proving that she could use it as a lethal weapon. Public enemy number one.  
  
Serena just sighed. There was no point in arguing with her father where money was involved. He was a good man; but money was his vice. She went to her room, quietly steeping out of the argument.  
  
Oh well, she thought as she packed her bags, she didn't have very much in the way of worldly belongings just a few dresses and some jewelry she never wore.  
  
Luna, her cat jumped onto her carrier and waited Serena to put her into the box. Serena stared at the cat for a long moment, torn between taking her only friend in the world of leaving her behind. Her father and Darien wouldn't take care of her that was for sure. Well, there was nothing for it. Hopefully the Prince who wasn't a human wouldn't find her appetizing.  
  
Besides, this was bound to be an adventure. After all, scary gothic, but perfectly romantic castles were supposed to be interesting. It was in the rule books.  
  
End chapter  
  
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TBC. I should have mentioned Mamoru and Relena Bashing, No? Eh oh well. I'm sure you don't really care anyway, because if you still reading this it must be interesting in some way. 


	2. Chapter three

*Burning Roses.*  
  
*A Beauty and The Beast story.*  
  
1 Rating: Pg-13  
  
Pairings: None yet.  
  
Genre: Romance, Humor, Drama. And action (I think).  
  
Disclaimer: Please, for the love of God, read the first chapter's disclaimer and keep it in your mind.  
  
Summary: Serena and Relena are packed into the weird transport vehicle, you know, the one that looks like a buggy was screwing around with a spider. And.. They meet the Beast. *cackles*  
  
  
  
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Chapter Three.  
  
Morning saw the two off. It was not a tearful Good bye that saw Serena and Relena off. More like a pat on the back on the back, a "Good luck, stay alive, And, Serena don't give the beast indigestion", then a boot out the door. The size Twelve-boot marks on Serena's rear were a silent, but very visual, testament to that. Her father had very muddy boots.  
  
Serena, to say the least, was rather peeved at the rude treatment and shook her fist at her father's back in the age-old one fingered salute. When he didn't notice, she gave up and dragged Relena's whining form over to the … thingamajig that would take them to the Creepy Gothic, but perfectly romantic, castle.  
  
Serena paused in her drag down session to appraise the contraption. She squinted at it, then bent over to see if there was anything underneath it, like hidden horses. She didn't believe that the spider legs were what carried the buggy.  
  
All right, from a scientific standpoint, the thing looked like an arachnid had gotten jiggy with a carriage. And, that was what came from the unconventional joining. But, that wasn't science; it was magic.  
  
She wasn't going to tell Relena that.  
  
Now reader, I realize you are thinking… "Jiggy?" I am also positive you know exactly what I mean. And if you don't, I need say no more about how naïve you are. No offense, of course. Do read on.  
  
Instead, she attempted to get Relena to let go of the tree that had been placed conveniently in her reach. Relena was doing a bang up impression of a koala. It deserved a reward. Which was why Serena let her go, and started stating. "Gee, I wonder what would happen if Daddy-kins found out you were making out with a tree. He'd be so ashamed. And just think of how your prince would feel. He'd be devastated. I mean, come on. A tree? That would make him feel… inept, if you catch my drift." She wriggled her eyebrows in suggestion.  
  
Relena's whimpers cut off abruptly, as the wide dewy eyes widened another fraction of a foot. Briefly, Serena wondered how they managed not to pop out of their sockets, but quickly dismissed the thought for another one, "And, my goodness, look at the transport! It's magic (shouldna told you that) See, obviously, we're going to an enchanted castle. Which means…"  
  
A blonde and pink lightening bolt sped past Serena, who just stood there looking smug. Suddenly, the bolt turned about face and zinged back to Serena, grabbed her arm and zinged back to the transport.  
  
The buggy's door shut behind them and the carriage lifted farther from the ground and started...uh, walking. Yeah, that's right, walking.  
  
The ride was uneventful. Mostly because, there were no windows on the buggy- spider thing, so the two had to make do with verbal chat..ter… Okay, maybe the word combat would be better suited to this instead.  
  
"I don't care if you're the prettier!" Serena lied; she actually did care a little. "I am not going to throw myself at the Beast, just so he can eat me while you run away."  
  
" But, you have no hope for the future; you have no physical endowments, never mind attractive qualities. No one's going to marry you! You love me right? So, in the name of your love for me, you'll sacrifice you're life to save mine."  
  
Drumming her fingers on her leg, Serena counted backwards from ten. When she got to nine, she gave up. " I love you, yes, but right about now, it's a debatable emotion I have yet to figure out. I shall not throw my life away because you want to live yours in a fairy tale. 'And, then, Serena, who loved her sister very much, made the greatest sacrifice that her sister may live on! She, with a final cry, threw herself down the beast's throat, as her sister fled like a headless chicken. Even though Serena was dead, pushing up the daisies, flame of life gone, Relena lived on happily ever after. The end.'" With a dramatic sigh, Serena batted her eyelashes, clasping her hand to her breast and faked a swoon.  
  
"You got to admit, it does sound romantic…"  
  
Glare: "Feh, romance? You are really o' piece of art you know that? My death has nothing romantic about it that I can see. Just a waste."  
  
"Oh. Okay." Relena turned away from Serena, whose eyebrow had risen in suspicion. It wasn't like Relena to give up so easily.  
  
Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Serena settled for thought, trying to ignore her talking stomach. She didn't feel like having a conversation with the organ just now.  
  
Suddenly, the carriage lurched forward, as did her empty stomach, which was not a joint sensation she liked to partake in thank you very much. It lurched backward, and Serena realized it had stopped, but inertia…oh wait, I don't think they knew about that yet. Erm, it stopped and the door opened with a dramatic whine, setting both sacrifices/girls to trembling.  
  
If one were to ask Serena why she was shaking, it was because she was excited. It wasn't every day one got to visit a perfectly romantic, but other wise creepy gothic castle. On the other hand, Relena was trembling in stark horror.  
  
It wasn't every day that one was sent to become a lunch menu by their father. Disguised as a Prince no less. Gee, sir, what would you like, a leg or an arm? Maybe you'd like a rib.  
  
I am not even going to go so far as to say. ' Would you rather have a breast?' Oh, damn, I did. Well, there's nothing for it. Now get your mind from the gutter dear reader, because things are about to heat up. Or, maybe do something of that sort. Depending on if I'm in the mood.  
  
Once both girls had been deposited in the courtyard of a very BIG and scary castle the spawn of the spider and the carriage ambled off at a not so slow pace. It seemed that it was in a rush to get the hell out of there, Serena noted as she dusted her self off. That didn't bode well.  
  
Some one, or, rather, something, growled from the cloak of darkness before them. It wasn't a particularly nice growl, nor was it a cruel one. More like a greeting 'how do you do' snarl, if such a thing were plausible.  
  
(That really didn't bode well….)  
  
But to Relena's panic stricken mind, it was a hungry sound. The kind a predator issued before jumping on it's pray and snapping it's neck like a twig, hen ripping it's belly ope … She made like a leech and attached herself to Serena's arm and side.  
  
"Captain! We've got cling-on's!" Serena thought, staring into the shadows with narrowed eyes. She was not intimidated at all, but, beside her Luna was. The cat hissed and arched her black spine to make herself seem larger.  
  
"Who are you?" Relena squeaked. Charming.  
  
"The master of this castle." The beast had a nice voice, deep and devil may care, but not so much so as to seem arrogant. It was more that he just didn't seem to notice the effect he had, and thus he didn't really care. Did that even make sense? Either way, it was a voice that could charm pig's into flying. A work of art. Oh, right, magic, duh.  
  
Relena visibly melted, tagging the deep and welcoming voice as that of a fairy tale prince's. The death grip she had on Serena slackened and the blonde girl used the opportunity to step way away from the other girl.  
  
Too bad, Relena sidled over to Serena and grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her towards her roughly. "Oh my… Did you hear his voice? I think I could die. He's got to be a handsome man. No one with a voice that … alluring, could be a beast."  
  
Speaking of pigs flying. Serena gave Relena a disturbed side glance, then her darted eyes back to the man or beast or whatever hiding in the shroud of the shadows.  
  
Gathering her curiosity; she'd never heard the saying curiosity killed the cat, so that explained her eagerness to meet, greet and feed death, she called out with no small amount of command that he should show him self.  
  
She threw in the or else on a spur of the moment fling. And just because being brave gave her a high; she couldn't think strait on an empty stomach, and this wasn't helping matters.  
  
"But, before that, do you have anything to eat?" She added action to inquiry by placing a hand on her stomach  
  
Relena groaned, which then turned in to a whimper as she too realized she was hungry. Father had given them the shove before they had breakfast.  
  
The thing, or person, in the shadows seemed to think, though how could they know? They weren't in there with him. Which was a good thing. I think. Anyway, Serena rubbed her empty gut with a slow circular motion, trying to keep it from feeding on itself.  
  
Not that it was working. It wasn't.  
  
"Very well then, follow me." The owner of the voice finally conceded and stepped from the shadows.  
  
Relena paled. Started trembling. Fainted. Serena looked behind her, and away from the creature at the sound of a body hitting the ground.  
  
She blinked, tilting her head to the side. Then frowned at the other girl's body. How Victorian. .  
  
The halls of the castle weren't as dark and ominous as the outside of the castle was, rather, it was well lit and cheerful looking. And they were clashing with the image the Beast made carrying Relena, looking like she was dead and he was carrying her to feast upon. Feast, Beast, heh. Oh, ahem, right.  
  
Serena's sense of mystery and horror was being tickled right along side her sense of irony. Think about it, dear reader, big, scary beast with huge fangs carrying a girl's body, in the halls of a merry castle abode. Sounds kinda cliché, no?  
  
Her cynical side, just couldn't help itself, and noted the irony with a trill through her bones. She shivered.  
  
Okay, so the fangs weren't that big, but, hey I can't not embellish here. Oh, fine, he only had small fangs, but they looked really big when he bared them. And that happened when he talked. Not that he talked a lot, mind you.  
  
Serena had gotten over the sight of the beast fairly quickly. Call it grim acceptance, shock or what you will. A nice thing about hunger was that it distracted her enough to ignore the facts. She looked about the place, with an awestruck expression. Actually, she hadn't really looked at him.  
  
"How old is this castle?" She asked, her awe coloring her voice. The beast took his time answering. "About 500 hundred years, give or take a few decades."  
  
"Neat." She paused to look at the Beast, in no small amount of admiration.  
  
He was tall, he towered, and no I am not embellishing here, Very tall. Six foot four at least. And to Serena's five three, he made her seem like a midget. She was not too thrilled with this, but she could deal with it. It was only regulation that he be way taller then her.  
  
Had his face not been have covered by his bangs, and fine hair, or more beast-like then human like, he might have passed as a very rugged man. A very muscular, rugged, untamed man. And a noble one at that.  
  
The clothes he wore would have been the envy of an Emperor and his court, Serena was sure. No wonder dad had sold them off like that.  
  
Why was it that men always were the ones to betray? Huh? She made up her mind then to treat this one with caution and keep him at least a 39 foot pole's length away. That seemed a sufficient enough length. And, hey, worked for her. Besides if she was thirty nine feet away, her chances of becoming beast fodder were cut down. Though not by much. She frowned, not at all pleased by route which her mind had taken into the land of Morbid Imagining. From now on, she was going easy on the suspense and horror novels.  
  
Maybe she'd try a few fantasy ones instead. They all ways ended with a happily ever after and not a crunch.  
  
Ohh, comforting. Not. Serena rolled her eyes in what can only be described as a sarcastic manner.  
  
The beast, let's pin him with the name Beast, cause I'm getting tired with writing The all the time, stopped and the door in front of him opened.  
  
What lay beyond was entirely too frightening for words, but I'm going to try any way. To me at least. Don't ya just love me. I suggest any of you with weak constitutions leave the area immediately. Like boys. Or at least scroll down a little ways. Save yourself.  
  
Serena peered around him, since looking over his shoulder like a normal curious girl would do was out of the question, and promptly put in a prayer to what ever merciful entity out there would save her. Either that or knock her out.  
  
The room she was looking at was pink. Not a calm and mellow pink, like a good pink should be, but a bright, vivid, pink. The bed was pink with cherry wood posts carved in a spiral and heavy fushia curtains attached. That was creepy. Fushia wasn't a bad color. But god, was it in the wrong place.  
  
And there were frills every where. Frills! Now, let it be known that Serena had not any taste for things like that. Frills were like… something really scary. She did not like frills. Thus she did what had to be done and turned away, looking slightly freaked. And not just a little green.  
  
It wasn't a pretty green either but, now I'm just babbling.  
  
So, moving on. Pink, frills, more pink, she didn't think that shade of pink could qualify as a color, Serena moved her eyes away from the chest and open wardrobe. She wasn't even thinking of looking in there, no way, nuh uh, no how. More frills, and something else she hadn't a clue as to what, it looked like a… nevermind.  
  
Serena decided to do what any sane person should do at a time like this, she turned back into the hall and though morbid thoughts to over ride the overly cheerful pinky-ness of what she had just had burned into her eyeballs.  
  
Once upon a time, she had liked the color pink, still did. But, that was just a little too much pink for her.  
  
Beast disappeared into the pink prison, and she felt for him, really she did. But any man, or beast, stupid enough to go in there was either very brave or they had a stomach of steel. Titanium.  
  
And reader, if you love the color pink, I'm sorry if I offend. Bad experiences with the hue have left me scared for life, but that's another story entirely. You probably don't care to hear about my personal life. Meanie.  
  
When Beast came out of the room, Serena felt nothing but sympathy for him. He was very brave.  
  
"I shall show you to your room now." He stated quietly, but his voice still rumbled.  
  
She sent up another prayer. But, naetheless, followed the creature, dutifully. Though she was glaring at the carpet.  
  
The carpet glared back.  
  
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moon: Eh, if you haven't noticed, there was some bashing. Unless of course your definition of bashing differs from mine…  
  
SakuraMona: I like bashing. Tis fun. In all honesty, this was an impulse story. I felt the need to write and just started. I'm trying to make it really good. Hope it works.  
  
Zpan Sven: I've already got another plan for Wufei. * evil laugh * Erm, yeah.  
  
Za Kaze No Nisou: Hey, I know you! Nice to see ya. Hopefully, this story will stay interesting. : P  
  
R&R, please. Ja. 


	3. Chapter Four

*Burning Roses.* *A Beauty and The Beast story.*  
  
Rating: Pg-13  
  
Pairings: None yet. Genre: Romance, Humor, Drama. And action (I think). Disclaimer: Please, for the love of God, read the first chapter's disclaimer and keep it in your mind. Summary: After Relena gets all fainty, Serena goes with Mr. Tall, dark and hairy to get some food. And three things scare the crap out of Serena. Oh sure, she can take a beast, but anything else is just too much for her.Wimp. Gods, this is the insanity that I write, I should hope I could do better. O.O? Oh, oops. Get to the story you ..people. Things, yeah, no more coffee for me then. ::clears throat and sips from her tea, crazy, hyper smile in place.:: I'll just keep to mocha. Ack, go. READ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter Four.  
  
Serena was, in all honesty, making a pig of herself. But, who could blame her? She'd just gone for so long with out food! So lay off. I'm sure she wouldn't like you judging her so quickly. Hell, I wouldn't want you judging her so quickly. Or me for that matter. Any way, She shoveled it in faster then the serving hands, which were creepy because they were attached to uh.. ..nothing, could serve. She was quiet, the highest tribute to a meal well cooked, aside from the sounds of her swallowing or gulping the water. Serena didn't do wine. At least not after. She cut into that thought by using a bite of Filet Minion, I spelt that wrong didn't I?, that was so tender she could cut it with a fork. And the vegetables, oh what delicacies they were. She had not eaten this well sicne she had lived the high life. And the fruits, oh, the fruit selection. Heavenly. I don't know about you, reader, but I am starting to get hungry.Mmm, fruit.  
  
Beast watched with a tilted head, stark, but morbid, fascination in his eyes. He had never met anyone who could pack away as much food as he did. Of course, he preferred raw meat, still warm, and strait from the kill.  
  
Okay, I just killed whatever appetite I had. Oh gross.  
  
..To the roasted cuts and steamed vegetables she devoured with a passion. All that lay before him was a goblet of fine wine. Aged to perfection. He would go out hunting later. Hopefully, he wouldn't find any stray brown nosing cowardly men just after a meal. It was dreadfully embarrassing to have to face company with one's face stained by blood. Half the reason, he supposed the man had wet himself. No one wanted to go for a nice stroll and have a gory faced creature staring down at him or her. With blood dripping from their jaws. Whatever. It was the man's fault anyway. He had 'No trespassing' signs posted. Though it had been a few years since he had checked on them to see if they were still standing. Goody, another thing added to the list of things to do. That and terrorize the local surfs to keep their curiosity at bay. He had no need for a lot of green broke twits coming along to "check the creepy castle out" . They were dreadfully annoying. Like bugs. He hated bugs.  
  
"Pass the salt, please."  
  
He jumped slightly, thoughts derailed to . they didn't have trains yet. um, well, then his thoughts went bye bye. Lame, I know. Looking down the table to the girl, he realized he wasn't the one directing the question to. One of the hands served her the salt and pepper. She smiled at it and thanked it, polite and cheerful. She was really at odds with his dark mood. He decided to remedy that.  
  
" So, how are you enjoying my humble abode My Lady?" He leaned back in his high backed chair in a pose that clearly said "Listen up Maggot, I'm going to ask you a few questions and you're going to answer them. For you are crunchy and taste good with a little srig of parsley for decoration." The blonde looked up, eyed wide as a deer caught in the torch light. A few stray noodles hung from her fork half way to her open mouth. "Pardon?" She asked, then glanced down at the noodles in longing. " Are you enjoying yourself here?" And he flashed her a toothy smile. Allowing his fangs to glint in the candle light. The blue of her eyes sparkled with mirth. Setting down her fork, she lifted her napkin to her face and daintily dabbed her lips. He had to admire how she managed to remain clean after the attack she had waged on the feast. She'd won.  
  
Serena had caught the meaning behind his smile. Nice trick, Beasty boy, lovely trick, she thought. Wasn't working though. Serena loved drama novels. She was a master at doing things with a flare. Given half the chance she was more dramatic the Relena was. And that was saying something. So, she did what she was good at, and with a mocking gesture, leaned back in her chair. Instead of stopping there though, she took it further, and folded her hands behind her head and lazed in her seat, giving him a half smirk. "Oh yes, I find it quite. unusual and entertaining." Her tone was colored by mock sincerity. She smiled sweetly. Clearly, she was talking about him. The score so far: Beast: zero. Serena: Four. He gritted his razor sharp teeth, the envy of any predator, not liking that she had taken that and shot it right back. Since the ball was now in his court, not that he knew about things like that, he decided to shoot right back. " Yes; I'm sure you'll enjoy the rest of the surprises this castle has to offer." Into his wine he mumbled a "trust me; when it changed it surprised the holy shit out of me." Serena smiled again, not as predatory as his, but, he supposed for a human it would have passed for feral. "I look forward to it." Ball was in her court. She figured to make the best of it.  
  
If the fact that she was able to give as good as she got was surprising, imagine his shock to find her standing from her plush seat and waltzing up to him to hold her hand out. " Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Serena Muun. My friends call me Ren or Sere. At least they would if I had any friends. And Darien wasn't scary beyond all logical reason." She waited patiently for him to grip her hand in formal greeting.  
  
Beast eyed the proffered hand as one would eye a detestable object with barely veiled disbelief, not entirely used to having someone greet themselves with something other then a scream of holy terror. This was new.  
  
Very new. When was the last time someone had ever greeted him with a smile? That other girl had fainted dead away. Nice legs though. This one hadn't so much as blinked, actually, she had, but it had not been out of fear or surprise or anything remotely resembling any negative response. It had been the normal wetting of eyes. It was normally expected for a blink, then a blood curdling scream in short order. He was backed in a corner. There where three reasons why. One: if he were to take her hand, his own paw would crush hers. Two: She might get freaked out when he touched her, if her touched her. Three: He hated touching people. He didn't want to tell her his name, either. His real name. What? Did you really believe he was named Beast? You didn't? Oh. Well, fine. I can never keep things mysterious now can I? How sad.  
  
It was considered rude to just leave her hanging like he was doing now. For one, he was staring at her hand as though he expected it to sprout a sixth finger. Well, that would have been interesting.but that was off the subject. She hated being stared at. Even if was one of her appendages that was the target. Clearing her throat, she gave her hand a shake to remind him that yes, she was still there, and no, she did not like to watch him watch her hand. Suddenly tired of just holding her hand up, Serena reached down to grab his hand and gave it a good hard shake, then dropped it turned on her heel and marched back to her seat and sat with a plop. She dug into her food with a vengeance, not looking at him. Needless to say, Beast had been reduced to a mass of shock and bemused surprise and not just a little self disgust. "Yeno what, you mean person, I think your rude." She sniffed, and chucked a chicken bone at him. It landed with a well placed, and satisfying thunk (in her opinion) right between his eyes. Getting up once again, Serena flounced from the dining hall, without a backward glance. She wasn't hungry anymore.  
  
No, dear reader, suffice to say, Serena Rose Muun was one very ticked off little woman.  
  
That jerk, he probably thinks I'm too ugly to be in his good graces. Bloody moron. No, he's a..a very bad thing.Oh, that hurt. God, Serena, you need to update your mean words vocabulary. Argh. She paused mid step to look around herself. And promptly plopped to her bum on the plush carpet, crossing her arms with a scowl. "Oh, bother. Stupid Serena, I didn't even ask for directions. And there is no way in the nine hells am I going back to Relena's room." Of it's own traitorous accord, her body gave a fearful shudder. No no no no no no. Nu uh. Pink. She swallowed again. "Hello, miss, looking for something on the wall that I don't see?" A cheerful voice quieried. She blinked, her glare at the afore mentioned wall wilting under the sudden shock. By reflex, Serena jumped to her feet and stomped the owner of the voice. Twice for good measure. And, partly because she felt like stomping the ever loving stuffing from the poor scape goat victim under her boot. Then, realizing that it wasn't Darien that she had stomped on, Serena went all wide eyed and backed up a foot or two to stare down at the person she had stepped upon with great force. Twice. It was a boy, that much was sure. But beyond her boot prints she could see nothing of his features. She had worn her 'men's clothes' for the trip here. Boots were handy when traveling. And stepping on poor nosey, but otherwise innocent people. Oh, she felt so bad. Then, she realized that the person she had stepped on wasn't human. At least, no human she had met had ever been that. tiny. Oh my. Wings. Serena gave a short, strangled peel of laughter, then dropped in a faint. Dramatic, yes? ~~~~~~ Three figures stood over the fainted maiden. Well, as much as Fairy's can stand over some one. Actually, they were hovering over her. Wings were useful for hovering. One of them flitted down to poke the girl with a stick. "Whaddya think's wrong with her." This one had a distinguishable braid almost as long as he was short. The one with the boot marks on him, turned red. "I.well.um..she." "Stop stuttering and tell us what you did to the woman." Another, the last one, demanded. Boot Mark's mouth clamped shut on his words with a snap. He was red with indignant anger. "I didn't do anything! I just asked her what she was looking at on the wall." The tree figures looked at the wall in unison then back to the girl. "I didn't see anything." Braid quipped. The other two fell from their places in the air and landed on the girls belly with a thump. She woke with a start. "Oh horse manure." Braid muttered. He watched nervously as she watched him nervously, as his two companions tumbled to the floor in a compromising position between her legs. He swallowed when she noticed.  
  
STOMP! STOMP! "Oh. Sorry. Reflex." "." ".Owie." "Oh, I like you." "Really?" "No."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 


	4. Chapter Five

*Burning Roses.*

*A Beauty and The Beast story.*

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please, for the love of God, read the first chapter's disclaimer and keep it in your mind.**

**  Summary: Hey, Coffee. ::insane giggle:: What's with the acorn? Must be from one of those persons from the Squirrel Convention down the hall. Better thank them. It's Starbucks. Mmmmmm… HOT!!!!.**

**::owowowow:: Anyway, Relena wakes up from her little trip out to Sleeping Beauty La La land, and well…yeah. Serena quickly becomes Bosom Buddies with the faeries she had stomped previously. Hey, what a lovely world they live in.  Where the bestest of buds come from the shoe marks on the floor. Erm, so… Beast has hell in store for him. Poor widdle beastie boy, having to deal with all this stuff I'm throwing at him. :: Insane cackle… "OW, my tongue":: GO READ NOW, coffee hot, I'm in paaaiiinn…**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Five. _

Beast was wondering the halls, minding his own honest business, really, when he started hearing voices. Now, he was quite certain it wasn't _those _kind of voices in particular. But, hey, considering what he had been through in the past several days, voices would have been the icing on the tea cake. That is if the tea cakes even had icing. Perhaps maybe, it's more of the jam on the fruit tart. Er, yes. So anyway, he was walking, or prowling like any good predator should prowl, when his hyper sensitive hearing picked up _these voices_. Now, that isn't to say his furry little pointed ears are hyper active and go bouncing up the walls, just that they are extra, very, very, very sensitive to any noise. 

Which was why he picked up the slight buzzing of the voices but not the words. Which was to expect, as he was, by his judgment, three halls away from the voices. Which, may or may not have been a good thing.

Whew, what a relief, for a second there he thought he had gone mad. He hadn't survived so long for nothing, mind you. It would have been a major kick in the pants for him to have gone loo loo after so long.

The irony might have done him in. Har har har.

Well, curiosity being a natural failing among his particular species-if there where any more of cursed creatures like him, that is-, he figured "Gosh golly gee, how about I go and see whom those voices are." And thus he did. 

Serena leaned down to inspect the damage she had done to the two faeries, feeling very bad for doing them harm. By nature, Serena was a kind girl who hated hurting creatures. Hell, she was a vegetarian, was tight with the whole "Save the {insert animal here}" parties, and so on.

But, she was a complete stranger when dealing with faeries. Were they bugs or humans? OR is that midgets? 

No offense to anyone out there. 

So, anyway, she took the safest route of advise. When in doubt, poke it with a stick. She did. There was a convenient stick just a little to her left. 

" Are they alright?" she asked, turning to look over her shoulder at Braid, who was floating upside down whistling to Yankee doodle dandy. He stopped for a moment, "Aww, don't worry about them, they're used to being used as door mats. It's a daily ritual in our life you could say."

"Oh, that's horrible!"

"Tell me about it." Braid went back to whistling while Serena went on looking scandalized. 

"Who does it?" She demanded, standing up to her full 5'3'' height. Considering Braid's size, she was quite effectively towering over him. She did it, and she did it well. He was very much afraid for his braid.. er, life.

Open mouthed, he stared up at her in horrified awe. " uhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" 

Suddenly, she was at eye level with him, or maybe it was he that eyelevel to her… in any case, both of them were eye to eye, and he was very much afraid. And he was sitting on her hand. 

"I'm just trying to help you guys. You don't need to fear me. Actually, I find that really funny… You fearing me, I mean." She smiled. 

It was a contagious smile, because Braid smiled as well. "Heh, yeah, no offense, but your not that scary at all really." 

"Hey, I can be scary if I feel like it. Well, My name is Serena, but you can call me Ren or Sere." 

"I'm Duo. The blonde pancake down yonder is Quatre and the one that has the proverbial stick up his as…um… yeah, you're a lady right? Well, He's Wufei. But you can call him Wu-man. He likes that name better." Duo laughed, scratching the back of his neck.

From the floor there came such a mutter, that Serena looked down to see what was the matter. 

"I heard that you braided fruit. And I'm going to kill you for it." 

Serena watched the short little black haired fairy stand up and straiten his wings in quick angry movements. She lifted her eyebrows when he drew a sword about the size of a glorified pincushion needle, and charge after Duo with a battle cry that, to her, sounded like someone had stepped on a mouse. Dou, for his part, just flitted to her shoulder with a gleeful cackle fit for a very small witch. 

She sighed, rolling her eyes upward. 

"Ye gods, you two are worse than Darien and I." Putting out a hand, she stopped Wufei just as he was about to dive bomb the giggling winged nut on her shoulder. Dazed, Wufei bounded off her palm and drifted to the floor like a piece of paper. She looked down at him, and shook her head.  

"All right, _now _I like you." Duo said, peering down at the swirly eyed Wufei with a curious expression. Cupping a hand to his mouth, he shouted down to Wufei, "HEY! WU-WU, whatsa matter, can't take a woman." 

A muffled curse was the response. 

Leaning down, she picked the bad tempered fairy up by the back of his shirt, and brought him up to eye level with her. 

" You know, it was rather rude of you to attack your friend like that Sir. Wufei." She gave him a shrewd look, and making a bark to the dark, " I believe it was dishonorable." 

With a sudden burst of fury, Wufei became a whirlwind of fists and feet. 

" I AM NOT DISHONOURABLE ONNA!!!!" 

Serena gave him that, "Maybe not, but you do sound like a mouse when you scream like that. You squeak." 

The volume of his shouts rose a few more octaves, "I DO NOT SQEUAK! I DONT!!!!!!

 "Whatever you say." She picked up the other fairy gently.

"I take it that you two know this place right?"  Looking down the halls, Serena came to the conclusion that if she were to try to navigate the castle by herself, she might end up getting hopelessly lost. And then starving to death, because she doubted anyone would ever be able to find her.  

Wufei, of course did not answer her, but Duo on the other hand was all for it. That is, until someone, or something depending on your point of view, interrupted the jolly little party of three and one knocked out.

Something tall, dark and hairy to be precise.  And not just a little scary. Serena was suddenly glad that she wasn't allergic to any type of animals or she might have sneezed herself to a coma by now. 

Beast stood there, looking particularly well groomed if not for the bad candle lighting, staring at her in what looked to be relief. But then again, Serena was hardly interested in whether he was relieved or not. I mean, come on, he did just act like she was a carrier of the plague. Do you seriously think that she would allow him to get off so easy? No. Wrongo. 

" What do you want?" Oh, yes, that was a _horrible _punishment. She needed to work on being mean. Oh well, She sat there looking at him, imagining every single bone being broken one by one by one. His bones. Not hers. She was not self-destructive. Despite popular belief given her choice of company. A very toothy choice of company at that.

Duo, who certainly had his priorities in line starting with getting the hell out of there before his rear was stomped by wither one of them, had decided to play wall-fairy and was sitting up on a picture frame on the wall. He watched the scene with avid interest. The kind of interest where you see something absolutely horrible and no matter what you want to do you just can't take your eyes away from it. Yeah, you know, that kind. 

He was also thinking, ~ 20 toadstools on Serena going all kow tow to Mr. I'm a big bad wolf.~ Serena had, after all stomped him and his buddies, stopped Wufei on his war path, and sent the chauvinistic mini man into a total lapse of sanity. He'd never seen any one do an impression of a rabid cat so well. 

Aside from Beast of course. But then again, that was a given. Like, Duh.  Okay, so he wasn't a cat. Nor, technically was he actually a wolf. Or a lion. Or …another beastie like creature with fangs and claws and grr-ness leaking from every available pore not covered by fur. Duo was getting a headache.

" Did you follow me?" She quaked in indignation, and threw the most convenient thing in hand, which happened to be Wufei, at the beast. "Ooops, I did it again." 

Luckily, the fairy came to just before dining into a head on collision with something that could grind his teeny weenie little fairy bones into jelly for his toast and put his wings to good use. The judges give him a five for effort, though the last judge had to be the standard pain in the foot and give him a four. Wufei made a note to prick the ingrate with his glorified pin needle later. 

"Do you make a habit of flinging little fairy's about?" 

"No. Only when you're around. You bring out the…uh, beast in me." With that, Serena reached and grabbed Duo, Still holding Quatre and walked away, snatching Wufei from the air as she did so. Leaving a very ticked of beast in her wake. Ticks were nasty things, really. 

Fuming, Beast rounded on his pads and stalked to his own sanctuary; the rose garden.

Serena marched down the corridor; nose parallel to the red and plush carpeting that would have any noble monarch turn puke green with envy. She took no notice of the struggling Wufei, of the squealing Duo as she went. A few times she would stop and peek into a room, to see if they were suitable for habitation. 

And, if, for that case, they were the right color. Pink was most assuredly out of the question. Maybe a nice soothing baby blue and other such shades were in order. 

What she got, was a nice, homey room with deep blue trimmings and wood décor with a lovely little library perfect for her. 

"Mine," Was the declaration before the door shut with a resounding tha-boom. "Oh, blessed tub. " 

The door opened again and three fairies were deposited on their rears with the orders to "Stay put or I shall take a pea shooter to you all." 

Once again, the door shut. 

Pink was the first color to greet Relena's dazed and confused eyes when she came to. She was disoriented and was having difficulty figuring out what had happened; so when the memories came back she went wide-eyed and open-mouthed. 

"Oh my…." She squeaked, sitting up.

All right, enough of that. I'm not in the mood to write about her. Zero interest factors. So moving on. Heh, pink…. 

Heaven on earth came in the form of a rose scented bubble bath in a marble tub for Serena.  What with the steam coming from the opalescent waters, she could only imagine how wonderful it would feel against her skin. 

Petty coasts and other articles of clothing ricocheted off of trappings and the few other items in the room before the owner had dashed into the bathing room and was engulfed in the rose water up to her ears.  

Serena's eyes fluttered with pleasure. At home, she had to content herself with bathing in a stream as far from the house as she could get. She hadn't had a real bath in seven years. Not since her mother passed on. Relena and Darien stood her up on the chance to have a real, warm bath. 

Such was the pains of being her. 

Well, she mused, I could get used to this. 

Beast was pacing. Back and forth back and forth. So it went.  

He was also ruining the rug on which he waltzed; his claws reeking havoc on the delicate woven strands of silk. Eh, well, he didn't much like the coloration of the rug anyway. It clashed with his fur. 

Well, _that_ was a weak reason for his animosity towards the rug. 

And what the hell was a rug doing out in the garden anyway? Duo must have been tweaking with the magic of the castle. 

Again. 

Damn fairy. Damn Serena who had just allied herself to the damn fairy. 

"I've certainly pissed off someone in the heavens." He growled, and resisted the urge to make a rude gesture to the twilight sky dome above him. 

If they were pissed off at him now, he didn't want to find out what their enraged mood was like. 

Oh…wait. He was a beast. Gee, guess this was just the icing on the cake. 

This must be an extension of hell. Laugh it up. 

Ha Ha. Ha. Whatever.


	5. Chapter Six

*Burning Roses.*

*A Beauty and The Beast story.*

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please, for the love of God, read the first chapter's disclaimer and keep it in your mind.**

** Summary: :: Blinks at the sudden appearance of horses. Twiddles thumbs then looks around slowly. Coast is clear. Grins then Glomps horses, with a gleeful cackle.:: Oh, and coffee too. Some one out there likes me. THANKIES.**

***Ahem * Anywhoo, Duo drags Wufei and Quatre into a game he calls "Hide and Peep." The victim and/or target: Serena. **

**You know, someone should have told them that it would be very detrimental to their health if they crossed paths with a nakkie Serena.   **

**Relena's in here somewhere too. So is the Beast- man.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Six. _

Duo looked to his left at Quatre, who was a still at little out of it, then he glanced to his right at a disturbed Wufei. He returned his eyes to the immense and nondescript door mutely.

Abruptly, he grinned. Now, I'm sure any such grin would not warrant much interest from my readers, but _this _particular grin is…well, to say the least Wufei was now inching way _away_ from Duo with a look of suspicion and not just a little bit of fear. And, Ladies, I'd advise you to get some napkins. Or maybe even a few towels. You're drooling.

Clapping his hands together gleefully, Duo reached over to Quatre and jabbed him one in the miniscule ribs, with a mirthful cackle. Poke. Poke. "I've got a plan."

Wufei was now afraid. Very Afraid. And Quatre would be too, if he wasn't too busy counting little blue birdies flying circles around his head. And considering his size, he was most likely trying to convince said birds that he was not food. 

But, not to worry. This writer is not a sadist. At least not where cute little fairies are concerned. With people I don't like….well… 

Duo jabbed Quatre again, and the little blonde fairy bid the birdie bye-bye and an  'I won't miss you.' Two large blue eyes opened slowly, slightly dazed and confused. But that was to be expected. Three too many stomps for the mini man.

" She's a keeper." Duo declared, " And, we're going to play a little game I like to call, "Hide and peep." 

Quatre and Wufei exchanged doomed glances, as Duo grabbed each by their scruffs and they all vanished.  Only the echoes of Duo's mini witch cackle was left to proclaim their presence. 

That and Quatre's "Oh, Allah….we should _not _be doing this." 

Quatre's and Wufei's stomachs had that sudden sinking feeling. You know, the ones where you know something s going to happen. Something very bad. And, judging by how far said organs had plummeted, said bad happening was bound to be fatal in some way. Duo ignored it all.

Serena sighed, leaning her head back to rest against the well thought out curve in the tubs side, perfect for resting one's head. Duh. But, the bonus was; it was padded. Oh, lovely. She could have died then and there and have been happy. Not, that she wanted to die, mind you. She didn't. It was a firm belief of hers that she was too young to die. Hence her reasons for not diving down Beast's throat when the opportunity had arisen. Rather, she had stuffed her own face.

Opening her eyes with a languid laziness, Serena's focus came to rest on the ceiling. Five seconds passed, before what she saw registered with her hazy mind. 

Things suddenly snapped back into sharp focus with startling clarity.

For guess who should be _attached _to said ceiling that was painted to a lovely mural by the way, but that is not relevant. Oh, yes, you guessed correctly.

Three little fairies hanging from the roof. I kid you not, this is no spoof. 

Quatre was busy staunching his nosebleed, and for a moment, her concern for him out weighed her anger at them. He did look like he was about to implode. It didn't look to be a pleasant demise. And, she could hear the words, "Allah, forgive me."  

Wufei was staring at a wall in the far side of the bathroom, red as a cherry, and muttering what she assumed to be prayers. Not that that was going to save him from Serena's righteous wrath. She is woman; hear her roar and all that. 

But, Duo. Well, he was looking at her in what appeared to be holy terror. 

Serena gave into her best creepy, sadistic grin, making sure to bare her fangs (which, by all rights, hadn't been there before, and should not be there now, but I digress. It plays up the drama.) at them all. 

Quatre looked down at her, his eyes rolled back into his head and he dropped from his bat perch like a fly hopped up on what us Future generations will later call Raid™. Works like a charm. Even fairies get the drop from it. 

Erm, yes, well, anyway. 

Catching the limp fairy in a towel that had been strategically placed to her left, She glared up at the remaining two fairies. Quatre was obviously an innocent that had been a casualty of Duo's, she wagered, _charms_. 

Wufei's prayers doubled in their intensity. But, then I doubt even Nataku had the power or grace of will to save him now.

"Well. I should hope you have a valid reason for being in my chambers, Duo? Otherwise I have two words for you and your friend there; Target Practice. And Maybe: Over Kill. Or; Dead Meat.Or: Fish Fodder. You get my drift, yes?" 

Duo gulped. Serena heard it. And, she reveled in the fear she had created; she'd never put the fear of God into anyone before. It felt _good_. She felt a power trip coming on.

Out side, Beast was prowling. He did that when he was angry. Or he had to think. Or the fairies had taken a joy ride on his nerves. Again. Or, well, you get the gist of it, yes? 

He often just prowled to enjoy the rush of adrenaline from the hunt, and watching small, defenseless critters go nanners and fall all over themselves trying to get _away_ from him. It was amusing. One time, a wild pig had run strait into a tree. Neck broken on impact. Easy kill. Very funny.

His prey for the moment happened to be a small doe. A very appetizing Doe, if he did so himself. Which, he did. 

And, the atmosphere was perfect, quiet. Just a background thing. Only the doe and he existed. 

Well, that is until two screams -carried from the castle on a wind that came from somewhere, to his ears, which sounded like mice, by the way. They were followed by an inane cackle fit enough to grind bones, which was probably why whoever it was screamed in the first place.

The silence shattered like glass about him. And the doe put her nice meaty hind quarters to good use and amscrayed, bounding into the dense forest gracefully.  

Scowling, Beast turned back to the Castle and tweaked a bit of magic to transport him to the screams. He was curious as to see who was being tortured, though he had a good idea of who it was already. 

He also had a good idea of who was doing the torturing, and wondered how she had gotten to his dungeon. Much less dragged those fairies down there in the first place. He'd known there was something screwy about that girl. At least the other one had fainted. That was normal.

What he came upon was not what he had expected, to say the least. Nooooooo, he thought. Seeing Serena securely, try saying that ten times I dare you, wrapped in a towel and brandishing a pea-shooter she got from God-knows-where and chasing down two squealing fairies was not what he had expected at all. He'd expected the woman to have _three_ fairies tied to a rack down in the dungeon wearing a dominatrix outfit and experimenting with the latest torture devices he had in stalk; reason being they came in handy for dissuading nosey surfs when they deemed in worthy to check out the " Creepy gothic, but otherwise _loaded_, castle."

Thus, he was adequately startled by the towel-wrapped-warrior-woman, still wet by the way, taking pot shots at the fellow cursee's of the castle. Any other time, he might have been amused. But this was just way to weird for him, than you very much. 

"What the hell is going on?" He roared, his larger size giving aid by carrying his voice well over the screams and such. 

Time didn't exactly stop on a shilling, but they did. Three beings froze and blinked up at him. One in relief, One meekly and inching away from the last one who was still pretty much in an indignant rage and looking like a certain sea goddess hell bent on making two afore mention persons pay for something or other. 

Shaking the pea-shooter at the two fairies, Serena held the towel to her tightly, "Oh, I'll tell you what's been going on! These two perverts have desecrated my maidenhood with their ogling eyes. And, I fully intend to take my vengeance upon them for corrupting my virtue." 

Beast balked. Oh, well that's understandable. After all, had he of not been covered by fur and such and had been bathing when someone or other decided to drop in on him and peep he would have done the same thing. All though, there would have been more broken bones involved.

"Very well then. Carry on." 

Serena smiled at him. It was not a very nice smile, and Beast involuntarily shuddered. Bad things seemed to happen when she smiled like that. "Thank you." 

See Duo careen squealing from the room, a terrified Wufei hot on his trail with a gleefully cackling Serena waving around the pea-shooter like a trigger happy lunatic frothing at the mouth. Only, she wasn't frothing. Yet.

See Beast shake his head, and say something to the plant beside him. 

"Things are bound to be interesting with her around." The plant deigned it better to keep it's silence. 

Relena stared around her room in apparent awe. (Shudder) Never had she seen such lovely shades of pink  (twitch).  And the frills…..th..they were just so… ( gag, twitch) hea… venly,   and oh so ( falls over, eyes x-ed out.)……………………………………………………………………………….ugh. 

Heart beat.

Heart beat.

Cleared throat as a small man with a rather distracting eye twitch steps into the sudden spot light, the back ground scene frozen. He striated his tie and reaches into his pockets to take of some note cards. 

"{ Management: Due to several technical and mental difficulties, the Author has fallen in a coma, and will not be writing for the rest of this chapter. We apologize for this error. However, We would like to take this time to inform you that she will be fine in a few hours. Until this time, our fervent prayers for her speedy recovery are with her. We would also like to inform you that Relena will no longer be appearing in her *Pink * room, for it cause several fluxuations in the Author's mental state. Again, we apologize.

Thank you, Management. 

P.S. Will whoever left the mug, with the acorn on it, on the desk beside the Computer please retrieve it. Perhaps you should also refill it with double espresso with a caramel swizzle for when the Author comes around. She has the strangest tastes. Thank you.

P.S.S. Also, the management thanks you on behalf of the Author for the "Lovely horses." And "How did you know?" Aside from the obvious of course. She can really be quite dim when she puts her mind to it. Again, thank you. }"

  Nervous Wreck, for lack of a better name, pockets the notes, bows then runs off stage screaming. 

_Chapter End._

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	6. Chapter Seven

*Burning Roses.*

*A Beauty and The Beast story.*

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please, for the love of God, read the first chapter's disclaimer and keep it in your mind.**

** Summary::: Sits down gingerly at the computer seat, looking a little worse for wear. Looks around warily, as though something of pinkish origin is going to jump out and maul her any minute. Shudders and turns back to the screen. It's pink. She screams. Blinks at the now blank screen and clutches her teddy horse for dear insanity. :: O..Okay, I'm very scared now.  :: Starts rocking. :: Uh, story…yeah. Just a minute, I'm gathering my wits here. They seem to have scattered and fled. Traitors. My bunny slippers seem to have hopped off as well. All right, that was sad…. **

**Ahem, so, when we last checked in Serena was towel wrapped and on the warpath. With a peashooter. Duo and Wufei were flying for their lives and Beast was enjoying the show. Not that Serena being nude and wet and in a towel that left little to the imagination has anything to do with it. Yeah, sure keep telling yourself that Beast dude.  **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Seven. _

Perhaps if Serena had been of sound mind, she might have realized her state of lack of dress and would have been barricading herself in her room then flinging herself out the window in absolute mortification. As it was, her vision was clouded by red and she kept seeing several scenarios for revenge on the two peeping toms flying as fast as they could away from her and her peashooter. Which, she had some how added several new adjustments to it. Like the scope. 

She was only a towel away from being a full-fledged streaker. Not to mention, the towel was only held up by sheer force of will but that was the last thing on her mind. And she hadn't noticed yet.

Duo looked over his shoulder; pale and wide eyed, and let out a squeak when he saw that she was still behind him. 

" Wufei, It's been nice knowing you."  He threw amiably, and almost conversationally over  to his partner in corrupting virtue. The tapestries whizzed by; scenes depicting great battles and the deaths of equally great beasts at the hands of a knight in shining Armour. Well, soon enough there was going to be a tapestry showing the gruesome death of two curious fairies at the hands of a wet, and tarnished maiden wrapped in a towel. Not a good way to die, nor very honorable in Wufei's opinion. He hated to be so small.

Wufei glared at him. "If we survive this, I _will kill_ you." 

Duo was suddenly struck with what he figured was a brilliant idea. " Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" He yelled, and whipped around a corner. 

"What the hell does that mean?" Wufei yelled back. 

"When all else fails, play dead." 

The two fairies snapped to a halt defying all laws of inertia and stared at each other in giddy enlightenment. Then with a nod and a wink, Duo feigned death and dropped like a stone. Wufei decided it best for his ever-shortening life span if he followed the leader in this demented game and dropped in short order.  

He heard her footsteps seconds later and sent up a quick prayer. NAACO smiled at him. Then gave him a good swift kick in the pants.  

Serena bent down and scooped both fairies into her arms. "Nice possum impression you two. I have a question." She stated, and though they couldn't see it, both knew she was grinning like a lunatic. "Do you like pink?" 

Both fairies gulped back their sudden wave of nausea. Oh, man oh man, oh man.  This was certainly a learning experience worth remembering. But, the problem with learning experiences is that the test comes first and the lesson later. That, and Duo would never use his knowledge if his life depended on it. Which it did at the moment.  Chances were he was going to try it again. 

Serena straitened, her prey in hand and began the journey to hell in pink, while humming the death march as a dramatic addition. 

7 **minutes into the future.**

Two horrified screams of two very terrified fairies and the ecstatic girlish squeal later, Serena was waltzing back from her trip to Relena's room. She hadn't looked into the room when she had chucked the two perpetrators into the lion's den so to speak, and had instead ran like her sanity had depended on it. Which, in two ways it had.

Right now, she was feeling quite pleased with her accomplishments. Not only had she punished those two pervs but also she had found a way to keep Relena holed up in that room for a good many days. Or at least until they found a way to escape. Or until Serena decided that she would be merciful and bale them out. 

Just one thing itched at the back of her mind; why hadn't they used their magic; she was assuming this because how else had they gotten into her room in the first place, to escape her when they had the chance. 

 " I AM GOING TO KILL YOU ALL. YOU DISHONOURABLE…. WHAT THE HELL IS YOU DOING? Oh No, LET ME GO!!!!!!!!!!" 

" ACK NO!!!! Go AWAY YOU FREAK FROM HELL OR SOME OTHER NETHER WORLD. BACK YOU SHE DEVIL." 

"OH, FAIRIES!!!!" 

Serena grinned and congratulated herself on a job well done.  She was rather proud of herself. Then she suddenly noticed a slight breeze in an area where a slight breeze should not be and looked down to investigate. 

No clothes. Towel. Slightly wet. 

"Oh. My, am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Not that she needed to ask that. Serena knew well enough that she was having no illusions about her attire.

And she had been running around like this, and brandishing a peashooter, which had mysteriously vanished, like a friggin psycho in front of …….. 

"Oh god." 

She tightened the towel around her, and ran back in the direction of her room, hoping and wishing that she would not run into anyone on the way there. 

Her luck gave out and died three feet from her room, for who should be standing there but Beast himself. 

She went pale, and rigid, stopping just  six feet away from the door to her sanctuary and Beast. " Oh, God, my second to worst nightmare coming true."

He looked over at her, and studiously kept his eyes above her own, for reasons that were rather obvious. She went from white to crimson in 1 second flat, breaking a few records as she did so and gave Quatre a run for his money.

"….Well," He started, then looked away and at the opposite wall, which just happened to have a tapestry of a naked Greek goddess. Sputtering, he averted his eyes to the ceiling, furred cheeks going red. " That was, uh , interesting." He coughed.

Serena pulled her peashooter from the general vicinity of who-the-hell-knows and aimed it at him. Desperate times call for the desperate to measure out the pain. Liberally of course. But, Serena was in no position to listen to that voice at the back of her mind whispering to her to be polite. She was also not in any position to make demands.

Screw polite, she  argued back, she was making sure this incident would never come back to bite her in the ass. By any means necessary.

"This never happened, you never saw me… like this and you were never here. Got it? Now go, or shall shoot you. And, if you ever bring this up, I promise to bash your brains in with a piece of convenient furniture. Are we at an understanding?" She hissed and slooooowly began to squeez the trigger of her peashooter. 

Beast sweat-dropped, but figured that if forgot this, he'd be more liable to stay sane then if her brooded over it. She did look very … sexy, was it?. In that towel…. NO, BAD THOUGHTS! Peeved at his traitorous mind, he snapped back, "It's not like I'd want to remember you running around like a banshee in the nude! God, no. You're too damn ugly." 

In retrospect, he figured too late that that had been the wrong thing to say. Very wrong in deed.

Serena froze, having her main weakness and failing thrown in her face so abruptly like that. She'd always been the family embarrassment because she just couldn't live up to the genetic beauty of them all. 

She tried hard to brush off the sudden pain she felt. And the only way to do that, was to take refuge in her anger. 

Her eyes stung where her tears had gathered, ready to fall, " Its not my fault I'm like this you bastard! I had no choice in whether or not I was worthy enough! Dammit, I never asked to be me! Just like you never asked to be what you are. Life screwed us both over, you ass. No one cares about me, but the least you could do is show some common courtesy and LEAVE ME _ALONE_! And GO _FUCK YOURSELF_ because NO ONE GIVES A _DAMN_ ABOUT _YOU_ EITHER!!!!" She turned and ran back down the hall, her sobs echoing through the area. Each cry dug into him, far more deadly then any knife could ever be. 

He flinched, her words repeating themselves. Perhaps he had been far  too harsh.

Looking about, there were no plants to talk to so he settled for the far wall.

"Damn. When will I ever keep my mouth shut." The wall said nothing, refusing to answer to a beast.

Sighing, he started after her. There was a matter of forgiveness he needed to beg for. 

Serena ran, following instinct. Running, and unaware that the features of the castle were melting away till she was out in a garden. A rose garden. She looked around, for a hiding place, though her eyes didn't help much in the search all teary as they were. Everything was blurry. 

 But she found something naetheless. A rose haven if you will, at the very back of the garden. She went for it. The ground was soft beneath her feet, grass sometimes caressing her skin and tickling her. Roses were every where of every color. But it was all blurred together.

As she got deeper into the garden the scent of the multiple variety of roses got rather heady. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to out weigh her pain. 

She got to the rose bush , which was shaped like a den of sorts. She crouched down before the entrance of then rose bush den, and wiped away her tears. Then, able to see better, she scooted herself into the haven.

It was much larger inside then it appeared outside. Thank god. Glad to have found a place to hide away, she pulled down a few vines to cover the entrance to her new found hide out and conceal herself from the world. She didn't want to talk to anybody or _anything._

It was a childish habit, she supposed, to run like she had. What else could it have been but that? That and irrational.  Whatever. She sniffled and crawled deeper into the hideout, where she curled up on a bed of moss and just listened. She was also sucking on her knuckle in such away that it appeared to be her thumb.

She had done this when her mother had died. Only, then the haven had been a forest. And she'd gotten lost….

Sleep hit her without any warning, not that she minded. She wanted to get away from everything. What better way then to dream? As long as it was not nightmares, she was just peachy keen on it all. 

_End Chapter._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, shameless self promoting here, visit my side7.com archive. I got art! I think I draw better then I write personally….::grumbles. Sips from Double espresso with a caramel swizzle, with a look of glee on her face.:: Caffeine good. Antipink very good. :: Twitch. Sudden evil grin:: Beware the power of stupid people in large groups. Har har, that's my advice for the day.

http://www.side7.com/art/niconiel/gallery.html


	7. Chapter Eight

*Burning Roses.*

*A Beauty and The Beast story.*

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please, for the love of God, read the first chapter's disclaimer and keep it in your mind.**

** Summary: So I didn't scare anybody too bad with the pink huh? That's good. I think I took the brunt of it all. Curse my imagination. NAACO stands for New Anonymous Anti Corrupting Organization in case you were wondering. I made it up. Yeah. Maybe it's a side effect of AntiPink…. What, it could happen. **

**So, anyway. Serena hides. Beast seeks. He finds. She ignores. Sort of. More like a catatonia of sorts. And, he starts to realize a few things about the girl behind the woman. **

**Like…never piss her off….**

**And oh the horror, the horror. You will see what I speak of soon enough. ::shudders.::**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Eight._

There are stories where the main man makes a great mistake and tries to sweep the damsel off her feet to make up for it. Where there is great danger and hardships awaiting both parties.  Where pain and heartache is nothing compared to the love felt on both sides. And forgiveness was given at the drop of a hat.

This is not one of them. 

No, the main guy is not actually a guy, but a Beast. And the damsel could care less about him. In her eyes he's in the same classification as a maggot. Yeah. And as for the danger and hard ships…. Does pink count as dangerous?

 Love? 

Please don't be naïve. These two have nothing but a mutual dislike for each other. I'm serious. Of course now that I've said that, you are all doubting me now aren't you?

…Where on earth are you getting love from anyway? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Serena mumbled something in her sleep. And curled further into her fetal position, the towel miraculously keeping all important parts of her covered. 

Either that or it was a very nice Author. 

I can see how you'd be inclined to believe the author story more. 

She was miserable. Not only was her body stiff from lack of movement, but her dreams weren't all that sweet. At all. Period. So lets leave it at that, hmm?

Then she sneezed. And woke up. So the dreams faded and didn't bother her anymore. She didn't want to remember…. Anything. Too bad she did. 

Fade away. That's what she wanted to do. Just fade away--

Outside her haven a twig snapped. "Serena?" It was Beast's voice. And, from the sound of it, he didn't know where she was. 

Thank god the scent of the roses was so strong, otherwise he might have smelt her. Not that it mattered. He had probably heard her. 

Her heart had skipped a beat. Interesting. The last time it had done that was when her mother had died. Or, rather, had been killed. 

She sniffled as quietly as she could, at least one small part of her hadn't been regressed to that of a six year olds.  That was a small comfort. Everything was still blurry. 

The vines in front of her haven were moved away and Beast's face intruded. He blinked at her. Startled perhaps by her appearance. Because, by the castles magic, Serena's towel was no longer that. It was now a dark blue cloak that covered her entirely. She didn't seem to have noticed its change.  Amazing that the castle had even accepted her this quickly, the magic changing her dress and leading her to his secret garden and all. 

What, did you think I wasn't going to tell you how Serena came to be in a cloak?  

Clearing his throat he tried again. " Serena?" 

She stared at him blankly, her fist still to her mouth. Big blue eyes stared right through him and at him at the same time. 

 Now, he realized why she never seemed beautiful. She was too childlike to be that. Blinking at the sudden thought, " he scooted further into the den. A hard accomplishment for someone of his size, mind you.

"I'm surprised that you found this place,"  he said, looking around at the wall of thorns and greenery that had jealously shielded her from the world outside.  " I used to come here myself when I was younger." His eyes went back to hers. 

Nothing was forth coming. She remained quiet. 

Going out on a limb he tried again.

"I was human once you know." 

"…Why are you telling me this?"

The limb snapped. 

"I haven't got a bloody clue." He answered, tilting his head in such a way that he appeared to be more of a puppy then a beast.

Awkward silence. At least for him it was. She didn't seem to care. At all. 

" I'm tired." She finally admitted, her voice a little muffled by her fist.  

Pause. "Er.. right then." 

Another pause. "Do you…uh want me to carry you inside?"  Briefly, he wondered why that sounded so appealing to him. Given, it had been a long time since he had even held a woman. Just thinking of the girl like _that_ was disconcerting. 

"Please?" 

He blinked when she scooted herself into his reach. The girl was almost meek. Not pausing to dwell on it, he reached down and scooped her up easily then backed out of the den careful of the thorns. Once outside the rose den he straitened and shifted her about a bit in his arms, hoping to get the feeling of awkwardness to leave. Then, he started walking.

" My daddy used to carry me to my room and tuck me in when Mummy was alive." Serena told him, voice somewhat childish. Actually, she was more or less saying the words to his furred chest and he felt them, more then heard. He also felt her hand tangle itself in his fur, as she nuzzled into his hold. 

"I miss Mummy." 

Blood pulled a trick against gravity and rushed to his face faster then he'd care to admit. Testosterone was an inherent weakness.

 So, feeling like he was stomping on thin ice he ventured a question, " How did she die?" 

"…Bad men killed her." 

Now despite popular opinion, he was far from dense. Already his mind had spun together a theory on this sudden insight to her life. Now a few more questions to see if her was correct. 

" How.. old were you?" 

There was a heavy silence as she thought about it. Or maybe she wasn't thinking at all and just didn't want to answer him.

" Six."

Another pause. "Ah." As though that answered everything. In some small way it probably did.

She sighed, and muttered something incoherent. Even his sharp hearing couldn't pick it up. 

He looked down at her and was shocked to find her asleep, her bangs falling into her closed eyes. For one small moment something inside him softened, then vanished under the threat of a good bashing. There was no way on this plane of existence that he going to get soft just because of a mere girl who could very well be his great great, great, great, great many times great grand-daughter. Though she was not. He'd never had kids. Therefore she could not be related to him in any way. Yeah, that was comforting…

  Things had just gotten way to awkward and strange for him. Truth was he had gotten comfortable with the way things had been between him and her before the towel incident; it'd been bearable. Even though she'd only been here for what? Barely even 16 hours. 

She was a challenge. 

He hadn't had much of a challenge in a while. 354 years to precise. He'd even kept count. Now, _that_ was boredom. 

Compared to him, Serena was little more then a child. Aw, hell, when you got right down to it, she _was_ a child. 

A scream of terror echoed through the castle's ancient halls and his ear twitched in response. Funny, he hadn't even noticed that he was no longer in the garden. 

Now what in _bloody hell_ was going on? (Actually, it was more like pinkly hell.)

Better finish the task at before going to explore the source of the scream. And that task happened to be getting rid of Serena. 

Her room was just a little ways down the hall. Thank god. He was seriously beginning to believe he was a lunatic for thinking such thoughts about her. They were scary. Scary because he actually liked them.

Duo and Wufei would never look at each other the same way again. Pink can do that, you know. And each of them were seeing nothing but pink. They had also seen each other in a new light. A very creepy light, but a light nonetheless. 

Hey, no ill side effects. Cool That anti-pink works gooood. Oh right story. 

The light.. it was pink. And them… they were very scared. 

Relena on the other hand was gushing about how cute each of them looked in the mauve tights they were wearing along with the pink poets shirts and the red velvet vests. Each had not a single clue as to how she had made a pair of suits for them so fast, and in their sizes to boot. 

As it were, each looked like rejects from some Cupid Wanna be school. To put it delicately; they looked like pansyfied fruit tarts.

Duo whined. " It takes a very secure man to wear tights. I'm NOT ONE OF THEM KILL ME NOW AND PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY!!!!"

"Shut up. It's your fault were in this mess anyway. Stupid fruit." This came from a disgruntled and disturbed Wufei who was sulking in a corner  trying to hide the hot pink bow holding his traditional pony tail in place. It was a mockery to him, he felt, to clothe him in such horrendous and perverse attire. It didn't even compliment his wings nor his figure or even his features. Pink did not sit well with him. In his opinion at least. Duo had other thoughts….

"Hey, I guess black does go good with any color." Duo said pointedly staring at Wufei's hair. 

Glare: " I may be from China, but keep in mind wedgies are a world wide tradition." 

In a first time wisdom that was rare for the braided fairy, Duo kept quiet. Very, very quiet. Even as make was administrated courtesy of Relena.

"Necca Me latre." Duo muttered. Wufei gave him an odd look. 

"What?"

"Kill me with a brick." 

 All in all; it was a good day to die. And both were praying for a swift and painless end. 

AntiPink is starting to wear off so I'm going to stop while I'm a head and I still have a head, for I know that if I keep writing, I will go mad and decapitate myself. 

_End Chapter. _

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Maybe anti pink would be a good thing for Duo and Wufei. I hope I did good by you guys out there reading this insanity. Peace out. 

And remember, Join the Army. Meet interesting people. Kill them.

As for my newest feature; Advice for the chapter: When the pin is pulled, Miss Pink grenade is _not_ our friend. She's fairy enemy number one. So, I'd advise you to fight pink with…..AUTOMATIC WEAPONS WHILE _RUNNING_ AWAY. *Ahem * Keep in mind you are not retreating. You are merely advancing in another direction. Works for me. Heh. I will not read any more militaristic material for a while….I promise. Unless of course you do want me to. 


	8. Chapter Nine

*Burning Roses.*

*A Beauty and The Beast story.*

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please for the love of God, keep the first chapter's disclaimer in your mind as you read.**

** Summary: Hmmm, where to start, where to start…. As someone has stated, the pink content of this fic had become rather outrageous. I fully agree. **

**And further more EVIL ONE who? Cuz, I have an Evil One. He's a fun little bugger. And to answer your question… I don't really know. Funny, hmm? **

**Oh yes…. I am quite forgetful. You'll all have to tell me who you want to have as the beast. I was going to have it as Trowa, but… well… crap happens.**

**Beast saves…he passes to… Right. So, Beast saves Duo and Wufei from Relena while simultaneously scaring the shnit out of her. Serena does a little spying and all that jazz.  And Cupid gets mentioned once or twice in here.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Nine. _

After depositing the blonde girl in the horizontal position on the resting facility also known as a bed, Beast had then headed in the general direction of them thar screams. 

Yes, that was an attempt at humor. 

Well, he was stalking the hall quietly often stopping to listen for any more horrified shouts or wails or whatever then starting off again. It was a tedious stop and go process of elimination. But, he enjoyed it. Magic took the fun out of things. He'd been too dependant on that anyway. Pathetic.

Thus here he was doing the mundane way of search and find. It was enjoyable.

Then again, the screams were not. He knew very well who they came from, he just didn't know _why _they were still screaming. Serena was no where near them.

Quite the mystery. 

Beast just _loved _a good mystery. Once again, he paused to listen, and looked to the wall beside him. A tapestry with a dragon falling from the sky a spear in its breast stared back at him. 

"How fitting.." Muttering to himself he continued on. Stupid magic tapestries.

He opened the door that held him apart from the screaming fairies and peered inside warily. 

Unless of course, the mystery contained pink. Duo and Wufei looked up at him and both immediately kicked into "Tortured Puppy dog" mode, blinking large dewy eyes at him. Mayhap trying to get him to bale them out.

Beast nearly gagged when he saw what they were wearing. "You've been insulting Cupid again haven't you?" He asked flatly. He was disappointed in them. You'd think they'd have learned the first 5,000 times, but, noooo. They just had to go around teasing Cupid about his diapered appearance. They conveniently forgot that Cupid didn't even wear diapers. It was a myth.

Something on the other side of the room squeaked and swallowed. Beast's head swiveled in her direction, slightly tilted to the side; one furred ear cocked back wards. It was an inquisitive posture for him. Second nature in the severity of the situation he was in.

"What the hell are you doing to my fairies?" He growled, confused by the whole freaky situation. 

Relena sat upon her big pink bed with an assortment of pink garments fit for a mini man spread about her. Her large aqua eyes were filled with overbearing fear for her life. Or whatever… She was probably praying to some Veggie God that he didn't eat her. He got that all the time. Also, how was it that her eyes didn't just pop out of her skull; he swore that if they got any bigger they would…

It was rather irritating. 

" Playing dress up." She offered in a small docile voice. 

Incredulous, he sputtered. " Dress up? How old are you?" This was ridiculous. What the hell was up with this girl? Or more to the point, what in bloody hell was she on?

She was doing quite the impression of a dear in torchlight, blinking at him like that. He was reminded of the doe had almost had for supper before this all began. Suddenly grumpy he shot the girl trembling like Jell-O, which hadn't even been invented yet, on her bed a look of death and turned to the fairies who were watching in mute awe and not just a little bit of relief. 

He pointed out the door and said, "Scram." 

Two little pinkish blurs whizzed passed him and out the door sending thank yous as they went. Only, they stopped in their escape and began the proper kissing of butt routine.

"Gravel at my feet later. Get out now." 

 They did so, whooping and shouting "FREEDOM!!" as they went. "AND JUSTICE!!!" "For ALL THE LITTLE FOLK!!!!!!"

Resisting the urge to turn on the quaking Relena and go "BOO!!" He looked over his shoulder and told her that if she ever touched the fairies again she would find herself as an appetizer for the local wolves. 

" Oh and, you'll be on your own. They wont be afraid of you. They're color blind." With a sinister grin, which bared all his sharp teeth he left the room and closed the door with a dramatic BANG. 

 Once outside in the hall, Beast shook his head with a sigh, "What a sad, sad, twisted little girl she is." 

He resumed his stroll down the hall, stepping over torn articles of clothing. Pink clothing. Great. Now there were two fairies running around in the attempt to be streakers. He was going to have to kill them, if this was true. But first he had a question to ask of them. 

He found them by following the trail of torn and shredded clothing, outside in the garden, sitting in a bird bath, scrubbing themselves like maniacs on a self purging mission. You know, one of those spiritual cleansing monks partake in? Well, think of it as a pair of rapid monks eager to rid themselves of evil's corruptive touch.

 They weren't entirely nude, they did have on their… boxers, you would call it. 

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Beast stood and waited for them to notice him. He figured it'd be a tad on the long side.

Must…remove….pink….feel. Must….get….clean…NOW. This was pretty much what was going through the two fairies minds at the moment as they waged war with their skin. Think piranhas.

 And what had their skin done to them, I wonder? Other then protect them from diseases and bacteria and all that…

They scrubbed, slapped, twitched, cursed and did whatever else they could think of to get the feeling the pink had left burned into their hides off. They felt dirty and scarred. Much like Serena had felt when they had been peeping on her. Corrupted even.

Their masculinity had been tainted. Pink… must …get…it….OFF.

To say the sight before him was amusing would be like stating the sky was up and the ground was down. It was funny. 

Frantic fairies. Wasn't there a rhyme about that somewhere? Heh. Maybe not. 

Beast cleared his throat, rocking back on his padded heels. Waiting.

Startled, Duo and Wufei looked at him red in the face. This seemed to call them back into their right minds, because in the next instant Duo shot a hooded side glance at Wufei. A slow, sneaky grin spread across his lips. Scheming, no doubt. 

A moment later, Wufei was doused with water and Duo was flying off to hide before he noticed the other thing he had done to him. Duo was a quick little twerp when he wanted to be. Especially when it came to magic. 

Duo stopped his flee flight, whirled around and pointed at Wufei throwing his head back and hooting with glee. Upon closer inspection, he was actually pointing to Wufei's hair. 

Reason being that each and every coal black strand was standing on end and gathered into spikes. Each spike was topped with a hot pink ribbon cloned from the original. 

Wufei looked up slowly, nearly afraid of what he would see….

… What he saw was scary indeed, for her cursed and turned a macabre shade of red, then lit off on Duo's heels like a hound from hell, glorified pin needle in hand from the general vicinity of who-the-hell-knows-where.

Beast sighed. 

Between you and me reader, this was getting old, in his opinion, which no one had asked for anyway, so why are we concerned with it? 

 He'd dealt with it his whole long, drawn out life. What a miserable existence. The novelty of their escapades had worn thin 300 years ago. 

They were riding the last nerve he had. Yippee-ty-yi-yay!

Turning about face, he slinked off in the direction of the woods. Maybe he could get a decent meal before morning came.

On that note, the day had fairly flown by. Interesting. They usually just limped along for him, before keeling over at sunset and letting the night take over.

Hmmm….he removed his cloak and shirt then went to all fours and loped off into the darkness of the forest, clad only in his trousers. There was less damage to clothing that way. Blood tended to get on his torso more then his legs. Most of it went on his muzzle. Hum, munting, right. Must hunt. No thinking.

Serena had woken up again, a bit after Beast had left her tucked into the bed. She'd been groggy for the first waking moments then upon remembering what she had divulged to the …Beast, had nearly panicked. Then that had faded and had been replaced with a sense of acute dread. 

How was she supposed to act around him now?

Unable to submerge herself into sleep again, She'd rolled from the queen-sized bed and clinging to the cloak she still wore, padded to the bay like window. To her delight it had turned out that said window had let to a balcony.

And even more of a joy was that the balcony overlooked the rose garden and the forest, over which the sky hung like a black velvet dome with midnight undertones and diamonds and blue topaz glowing upon it. 

She leaned against the rail looking up and searching for her favorite star. Had she've been home, she would have had little trouble finding it. But she had been moved to a new position on the ground and the sky was different then it was at her home. Not different really, but certainly not the same. The stars had rotated.

Down below her a noise grabbed her attention and refused to release her. For there below her was Beast. She watched, feeling sneaky that she was going unnoticed by the predator. It was an exhilarating feeling. 

How often is it that the prey gets the one up on the predator? Not very often. 

Then he started stripping and Serena nearly fell off her perch on the railing. Clinging to the cold marble for dear life, she watched slack jawed as he threw his silken shirt to the side onto his already discarded cloak.

Though she was far up off the ground and farther still from him, she could still see the muscles play beneath the fur. Her throat went dry as a thought occurred to her. (And, she noticed another attribute she had not been able to see before. A TAIL!!)

He could have easily broken every bone in her body when he had carried her up to her room. And, A TAIL!

How unnerving…

Beast went to all fours and bounded away into the forest and out of her sight. 

She blinked. Well, _that  _was interesting.

Untangling herself from the railing, she cleared her throat and looked back up at the sky, resuming her search for her star. She thought back to Beast and her face lit up like a cherry. What fun, she thought, teasing certain death by spying on him like that. 

Serena loved to test death. It was great fun. You should try it some time. Of course, you only enjoy it for so long. 

She found her star and sighed in relief. Good. It hadn't fallen. Now, wish time.

_End Chapter._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yikes. Yi-kes. I like that word. O.O… Yeah so anyway…This chappie wasn't as funny as the others was it? 

So, to make up for it… I would like to clear up the little matter of my sanity as it has come into Question. I am not in any way shape or form sane. Insane? Hell yes. 

Correction. I do not suffer from insanity. I'm a carrier.   Chew on that one for a while. 

All right more funny things to say… Hey, I got a joke. Any one ever hear of the pig farmer? :: Evil grin.:: You see it concerns my cousin and his pigs. I don't like my cousin. If any body wants to hear it, ask and I'll type it in the next chapter.

Advice for the Day: There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved with a suitable application of high explosives. 

My translation: If life sucks, let other people know by blowing it all to hell. Use nitro. It's fun. 

And isn't Ironic, that I love Pink( the singer you nitwits.) Cruel Irony, no?


	9. Chapter Ten

*Burning Roses. *

*A Beauty and The Beast story. *

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, and Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please for the love of God, keep the first chapter's disclaimer in your mind as you read.**

** Summary: Oh, I just _love_ making people laugh.  Anyways. Anyways. There's a lot of anyways in here. Just a warning. **

**Eh…I don't eat paper. Gives your tongue paper cuts. Nasty things. But chocolate. ::Rubs hands together.:: You're spoiling me. T ell your Mom I send my sincerest apologies. It couldn't be helped. **

**Make a frigging wish! Chapter Title.**

**So, Serena was star gazing, and, gazing at Beast ( what a fun activity) before he went off into the woods. Hours after ward, she makes a wish. A sweet widdle wish at that. **

**And, then, We find out there's a Vampire hanging around. Lovely. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Ten._

Stargazing is something many great scholars have done in the past. Take Galileo for instance, he was an astronomer and Italian physicist, you know, the one who dropped two different objects off the leaning tower of Pisa way back when, and, he also came up with the Copernican theory. Of course everyone called his theories and hypothesis heresy, including the Rome Inquisition. He was a stargazer.

That has nothing to do with this story. It was just an example. Because, that was what Serena was doing at the moment. 

Anyways. 

Serena was supposed to be tired after the day she had. Unfortunately, she found it quite hard to just fall asleep again after her little spy game with Beast as her pawn. 

It had nothing to do with the vision of power the Beast had provided her with hours ago. Yes, my dear reader, _hours_. She had _never _seen any male (even if he was a beast) so well built. It had thrown her hormones into a tizzy, but don't tell her that unless you fancy getting your spleen served to you on a silver platter with a sprig of parsley as decoration.

At court, the other males had been powder puffs (and I'm not talking about the Power Puff Girls either). Literally, what with their powdered wigs and spoofed up threads. It was all rather exhausting, really. And none of them had any strength what so ever. 

There was something to be said for a man who was physically fit. It meant that he could very well protect his chosen mate. But, on the other side of the shilling, with this strength, there also came the ability to harm her. 

She was speaking from experience, a rather painful one at that. 

Abruptly, a shooting star of an odd hue sped across the velvet sky and cut her from her thoughts. She blinked, coming back to herself roughly at the speed of light.

Make a wish…

…But what should she wish for? She could go off and be unoriginal and wish for true love. But, as stated before, that was unoriginal and selfish. Despite all outer appearances, she was not selfish. 

She could wish for beauty, but she knew it wasn't worth it anyway. If you were beautiful, people's expectations of you changed drastically and became far to heavy to carry on her shoulders. Things were complicated.

She could wish for wealth, but she had had that, and she didn't want it back.

So, what was there to wish for? 

Her thoughts pin-wheeled and then settled on Beast. By matter of deduction she had figured he had been cursed by something or other and had been changed into what he was. She did remember what he had told her about himself down in the rose garden. It was interesting, she'd admit, their exchange of past secrets and not so secrets. 

Probably, the reason she told him anything in the first place was because she had felt obligated to tell him something of herself to break even with him. 

She just had to go and tell him her darkest secret didn't she? Well, not all of it, just a fragment. 

He probably missed being human. Serena was a kind girl. Really. That's why she was going to wish for his humanity. Turning her face back to the sky she made a wish, closing her eyes as she did so. Hopefully, for his sake, her wish would come true. And if it didn't… well, then she'd just have to come back out tomorrow night and wish again.

The hunt hadn't gone well. It seemed his frustration and stress was once again getting in his way. Damn. He hated when that happened. Oh well, he had caught a rabbit. That small morsel would sustain him till tomorrow at least. He'd already had a large meal yesterday, just before he had stumbled upon Kenneth, and, like most predators, he could go with out food for several days before he needed to feed again.

Pause. Ye gods, he sounded like a fraggin vampire. Nasty creatures. Really. Well, there were a few exceptions. But, the whole demon race in general was a bloody pain in the neck. Ha, literally. There was a triple innuendo to that. Oh, was he good.

He was trying to avoid a certain other vampire. That man annoyed the hell out of him. Hmmm.

Two reasonably luscious females in his castle with a vampire not far off. 

Not good.

Now he was going to get roped into protecting both of them. Well, he could just tweak the castles magic a bit to oust any vampires, but.. this particular vamp was very…. Persuasive with magical fields. 

Garlic did nothing. He knew. He'd tried. 

Crosses only worked if they touched the vamp. 

Holy water… yeah, Right.

Sun wouldn't be up for another 9 hours. 

 Joy.

What to do… well, He figured Relena was safe enough. No vamp in their rights minds would try to feed from her. Though, this particular vamp was in a questionable state of mind himself. Ahem. 

So that left guarding Serena. 

Again. Joy. 

How was it that all those astronomers were able to stand staring up so long? Her neck hurt. It was cramping. Given, they did have telescopes. Still, it hurt. 

Sighing, she slowly turned her head to the side and felt the vertebrae pop. "My, but that felt lovely." Now that the cramps were more tolerable and quickly fading, she turned away from the sky and slid back into her room. She paused just inside the glass doors, then, on an impulse turned and shut them then slid the lock into place. That done she pulled the heavy velvet curtains shut. 

She had no idea why she was so paranoid all of a sudden. But, Serena was no idiot. When it came to instincts, she followed them faithfully. One tended to last longer in the game that way. She knew. Experience again.

Paranoia still in the position of her best friend she padded over to the wardrobe and pulled open the door. 

Silence. 

" Whoa."

Assailing her vision, where jewel shades of silk and velvet and lace and…you get the picture. She had never seen such an arrangement of dresses and such in her life. But, there were no night shifts. She _needed_ a night shift. Scratching her head, she peered into the wardrobe looking for a shift. 

"..Um..I need a night shift..please." She closed the door, waited, then opened it again. 

Seconds later there was a frustrated growl, "Damn. It worked in the books." Sighing, she closed the door again and started to turn, then stopped. She eyed the door a moment then reached out and pulled it open. 

"Oh yeah, _now _you have an abundance of night wear. Stupid magic wardrobe." Grumbling, she yanked a dark blue shift from it's hanger and shut the door. Then stomping behind a partition, she fixed the wardrobe with a wounded glare and stepped behind the partition that had a lovely array of flowers on its sides. 

Lets admire this lovely object while Serena changes shall we? It's a lot safer in the long run. Ooh. Ahhh. And all that.

A minute later, she padded over to her vanity and slumped into her chair with a grunt. She glared at her reflection a moment, examining her features. 

Pert nose, stubborn chin that had the tendency to lift into the air when she got mad, big blue eyes that seemed to sparkle and shine with … silver flecks. Hmm. They were new. Blonde hair that, when unbound from the tight bun she kept it, in fell to the floor. Her hair was her pride.  She sighed, reaching out to trace her mirror cheek. Pale skin any other woman would kill for. 

All in all her face held to much character to be anything but cute perhaps. She muttered at the irony of it all, and pulled her hair loose. 

The gold sunshine spilled to the floor in waves.

Then promptly got tangled. With a lively curse to the powers that be, she grabbed the brush and declared war. She pulled her hair over her shoulder into her lap and started to brush with a vengeance. When that got done she plaited it into one long braid, tied it off then got up and hobbled to her bed, entirely exhausted from her efforts. It was past midnight for Pete's sake.

Who was Pete anyway? 

She was asleep right when her head hit the pillow. Perfect timing. 

All was quiet. Aside from Serena's light breathing. But, still, all was quiet. Perfectly silent. Perfectly still. Nothing moved….Ahem, I said 'Nothing moved'. Hell-O!

Across the room from Serena's bed, something, finally, moved with a small squeak because a certain author had poked him, but that was immaterial.

Anyways. 

Said something scurried to another side of the room, all the while keeping one eye on the bed's occupant for any signs of danger. 

Now, I know what you thinking. This is the Vamp right? The literal pain in the neck. The man attached to two sharp fangs and a big thirst for blood. 

Nah. This something couldn't do much damage to an already dead flea. Well, no too much damage anyways. Again, that's beside the point. What I'm getting at is that this something was not exactly an unknown factor in any case. 

I mean, hey it was just a mouse. 

Yeah, I know. A mouse? Was that what all the fuss was about? I do believe I'm drawing this out. Nasty habit, that.

Well, what I was trying to get at was that this little mouse was running. Ah, you didn't see that now did you? If you did, here's a clap on the back. Good for you. 

Yes, reader, that was sarcasm. 

So. This mouse, a gray, bug eyed little mouse, again immaterial, was scampering _away_ from a certain other something. This is where Mr. Neck sucker comes in. Now, class, pay attention. And no spit balls, please. I mean it. ( Also, wear turtle-necks. Just in case.) 

But, then again, this is another chapter entirely. 

_End Chapter._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know some of you would like to know the joke I mentioned earlier in this fic. But, I was also thinking that since the joke is rather crude and typing it on a PG-13 rated fic would be kinda improper. So, I believe it would be better if those of you that would like to know said joke should email me at hexsilverquick@yahoo.com, I'll get back to you faster then if you tried the other one. Okay?

So, serious matter aside, let's get down to the fun stuff. Great…..Now I don't know what to say. Grrrr. Sorry I left ya'll hanging. Just felt I had to.

Advice: If life gives you lemons, squeeze the juice into a water gun and shoot people in the eyes. I wouldn't recommend this if the guy and/or person your aiming at is bigger then you. But if you do, start running when they are trying to get the juice from their eyes. Then, when you're a safe distance away, you can point at them and laugh heartily at their expense. And Run. Again. 

Loads of Fun.


	10. Chapter Eleven

*Burning Roses. *

*A Beauty and The Beast story. *

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, and Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please for the love of God, keep the first chapter's disclaimer in your mind as you read.**

** Summary: Save an Author; Put me on your favorites list! Or not… For some strange reason, I hate fruit cakes. But, I like Xellos. Kinda like the pink thing. **

**Asl the eight ball that question. Wonder what it answers. And why on earth did someone invent a magic eight ball that's pink? Better yet, where they under the influence…? **

**Ok, we have a vampire. He makes himself known to Serena and this starts a chain reaction as well as uncovering a little bit of the mystery around her mothers murder.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Eleven._

Sleeping was really a wonderful thing. It was the portal to a world of fancy and dreams. Pigs can fly, animals can sing, and all else the sleeping mind can create. And the great thing is, you're convinced it's all real until you wake up, then you struggle to remember what it was you were dreaming of in the first place.

Anything could happen to you in your sleep. And then anything can happen to you _while _you sleep. Like, say, a vampire paying you a visit. And not because he wants to meet and greet you like a gentlemen that has no intention of getting under your skin. Pun intended.

Like now. 

The art of sneaking around at ungodly hours of the night was a handy little thing really. He had gotten very good at it. But, the mouse had tarnished his record. Either that or the Force behind the mouse. Damn that force. Because it was very annoying.

Hey! I resent that, you ingrate. And I am not an It. Peon.

…At least his prey hadn't awoken. By all accounts the girl slept like a rock. She never even moved. Wow. Then again, it was just a mouse. 

Anyways.

He could smell the life flowing through her, feel her pulse, hear her heart beat. The sweet taste of her blood was haunting him, he could almost taste it. In response he felt his fangs grow and poke at his bottom lip in eager prepartation for human's blood. Oh, it had been so long since he had had the sweetness of a maiden's blood. She was going to taste good. O positive, if he was correct.

If Serena had been awake she would have smacked him for thinking such a perverted thought about her. Then she would have taken her peashooter to him. But, she was not, so he was safe for now. 

When she woke up was another matter entirely.

He continued snaking his way to the bed, eyes glowing with anticipation of the kill. Each step was placed with careful precision. Quiet as a mouse. Then he stepped on the mouse. Damn precision to hell.

The poor creature let out a scream much akin to Duo's and Wufei's own screams. Then died. 

After that, the silence was deafening.

As luck would have it, Serena sat bolt up right, her hand going to her heart. Her big eyes, not entirely used to the complete darkness, stared into nothing and everything. Well, not really, it just sounded better that way. She took a deep breath then lay back down muttering something about dreams. 

Her light snores once again filled the room. 

The vampire sweat dropped, and nearly fell over. What the..? How the…? O-okay. Well, no skin of his back if she went strait to sleep.

Actually, Serena was not sleeping. She wasn't stupid. She had seen the dark figure; and seeing as Serena loved to play mind games had feigned going back to sleep. Her hand was reaching under her pillow for her pea shooter. All ways have one positioned in your reach. 

Let it not be said that she was unprepared. She had had too many weird things happen to her in the past not to be unprepared. Thus peashooters were positioned in the strangest places. And all within her reach.

Mr. Shadow advanced on her and she almost snorted. You'd think he'd notice her irregular breathing, or her rolling her eyes like this. She rolled her eyes.

Oh well, just for that, she was going to pound Mr. Shadow into a bloody, twitching pulp with her trusty pea shooter # 34 for waking her up and stepping on the poor little mouse. It was cruelty to animals. What did the little mouse ever do to him anyways?

You know I could say that the mouse tarnished Mr. Shadow's record, but I won't. Of course, I just defeated the purpose so I'll be quiet for now. Before I divulge something else.

She waited for her window of opportunity. Waited for the perfect time to spring and attack. It was coming; she could feel it. The feeling sang a symphony in her veins, pumping her with adrenaline. Almost there. Her muscles coiled, getting ready to carry her from her prone position. 

THERE! 

With a giddy feeling in her gut, she sat up and in one fluid motion had the peashooter to the shadow figure's neck. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM YOU PERVERT!" She smacked him upside the head hard enough to do some serious damage. And enough for her to feel that the figure had no fur. Uh-Oh.

He very nearly jumped from his undead hide when his prey jumped up and screamed at him. But when she hit him….well that was the straw that broke the camel's back. With a snarl he pounced on her and pinned her arms over her head, straddling her waist. 

Serena suddenly realized she was in trouble. She had thought the figure was Beast trying to play a trick on her. Oh, was she wrong. She opened her mouth, took a deep breath and….

" I would not advise that my dear." Her captor's smooth, deceptively silky voice cut in.

"Gota hell. GET OFF OF ME YOU SEX FIEND!!!!!! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!! GET OFF ME NOW! AAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

His ears ringing, he clamped a hand over her mouth, very much annoyed that his meal had the gall to back talk him. Oh well, at least there was a challenge in this one. 

"Ahhh, but you aren't standing are you?" He could see her blue eyes get wider and she began to buck and squirm violently to get him off of her. She was afraid now. Good. He loved fear.

Serena frowned into his hand when she remembered something. She was very flexible. Har har har. Joke was on him. Pausing to take a deep breath from her nose, Serena let her self relax. Then she waited for him to do the same. When she felt the rigid strength let up, she twisted kicked and bucked in quick succession, thus throwing him off balance. Taking advantage of that, she used her flexibility and brought her knee up into his back and he flew over her head. 

She was up and running to the door before he had the chance to recover. Now the fear had set in. Or maybe it had always been there, she just hadn't felt it over the anger and adrenaline.

Of course, Beast chose that moment to come storming in, the door banging into the wall behind it. She nearly jumped for joy, but instead wailed and pointed a finger at the man that had assaulted her and darted behind him with a sob. Her nerves were still jumping. And her mind was running around bawling it's eyes out and wailing in hysterics. She remembered…

Beast stared at the vampire with annoyance, listening to Serena's scared breathing. He could smell it too. It bit at his sensitive nose and yet, at the same time made his feel stronger.

The vampire could smell it as well, and licked his lips as thought tasting it. Beast felt disgusted by the display. Serena's small hand found his own and gave it a squeeze, seeking something strong to hang onto. Startled, he looked back at her to find that she was staring at the Vampire. He squeezed her hand back then turned back to the vampire. 

" …" The vampire said. He began backing toward the window, the open window. Powerful vampire he was. But stupid, he was not. There was no way on earth that he was going to stand around and see what possible tortures the Beast could come up with. 

Wisely, the vampire turned and vanished out the glass doors. 

All was quiet again. That is till Serena gave a sniffle and blew her nose into a hankie she had procured from somewhere thus providing the comic relief.

" You okay?" Beast asked, stupid question, but he felt it was the right thing to say at a time such as this. His answer was a scathing look from Serena as she let go of his hand and padded back to the bed. 

He stared after her mutely as she pulled the covers over her head and sniffled again. 

" I hate men." She told him through the blankets. " I hate men in general." 

Beast didn't feel like pointing out that he was a man. Instead he silently volunteered to stay with her for the night to protect her from the pain in the neck. 

"Actually, technically, he wasn't a man." 

The blankets seemed to glare at him, " Oh? And what, prey tell, was he? He looked like a man to me." 

"A vampire." 

" Yeah. But, need I remind you that he was still very much a man. I know because he was sitting on me. Think of the implications for a moment." The blankets moved a little and a long gold braid fell out of them onto the floor. A second afterwards, a pale hand snaked out and pulled the braid back in.

Beast thought and turned red in the face when he realized what she meant. " * Ahem*… Are you..er… going to sit up and talk to me..?"

"…. No. If you want to talk, then do what your doing now or come join me under the blankets."

Beast sputtered.

She humphed, "That's what I thought." Once again the blankets shifted, and she peeked out from under them to stare at him somberly. Under her blank gaze, Beast shifted clearly uncomfortable.

 He was beginning to notice a pattern with Serena whenever she got traumatized in anyway. She also had her fist to her mouth. Just like she had been out in the rose garden.

" You're not okay; you're planets from okay, " he muttered under his breath while reaching back and closing the heavy oak door. "Star systems."

She said not a word, but pulled the blankets back over her head, and he heard another sniffle. By his theory, after seeing her mother's death, she had been forced to become an adult at a young age. Witnessing a murder has a way of aging the mental process. Unfortunately, Serena hadn't handled that too well and going catatonic as her only way to cope. 

Post traumatic stress syndrome. 

Sort of. 

Not really. 

Maybe not.

 Eh…whatever. 

"Fine. I'll just stay here until the dawn to make sure he doesn't come back." That said, he padded over to a large fluffy chair and made himself cozy. He curled his legs under him and leaned back closing his eyes. 

"Mphhmmph." The blankets said. He ignored her, recalling the first rule of childhood. As long as no skin shows, the bad monsters can't get you. 

Probably went for vampires too. 

A loud scream jolted him into the waking world rather abruptly, and he nearly fell from the cozy chair as a result. Wild eyed, he cast about the darkened room for the disturbance, thinking the damn blood sucking pest was back. 

What he got was a screaming Serena running around the room, still asleep. She screamed again darting past him, though something was chasing her and she had no where to escape. He got to his feet and tried to grab her as she ran past him with a wailing sob. He reached for her again and missed. 

"No, don't hurt me!!! MUMMY! MUMMY SAVE ME!!" God, she sounded like a child.

Finally, he caught her by her frail shoulders and, ignoring her small fists raining pathetically weak blows on his chest, shook her awake. 

"Let me go! I promise not to tell!! Mummy. Why'd you heard Mummy?" She cried, brokenly. He shook her once more.

Clouded blue orbs snapped open and she nearly went limp, looking around for her attackers, held up only by the Beast's hands on her biceps. She whimpered and tried to struggle from his grasp, but he shook her again, "Serena, It's me! Beast?!" 

The clouds in her eyes cleared and a ray of light shown through the storm, and she looked at him. " Beast?" He gave a crooked grin, and released her slowly, making sure she wouldn't fall over. 

"I woke up?" 

"That's what it looks like." He answered, confused by this new development. 

She blinked at him a moment, then turned and moved to sit in the chair he had been in previously. It was warm and smelled of him. He smelled like the forest. Like her Mummy…

 "Oh" 

Watching her curl into a ball on the chair he was struck by how fragile she seemed now. Like a glass figurine. Poor thing. 

"What happened?" 

She looked up at him, brow furrowed, " I had a nightmare. It was nothing. Don't worry." Then she went back to pulling at a frayed thread on the arm of the chair, absentmindedly. Completely ignoring the concern in his eyes, the look that said ' You don't appear fine, and that little run around the room was certainly not nothing.'  

A moment latter she began rocking herself. 

'What happened to you Serena?'

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

O-okay. Interesting chapter. ::Reads over it, with a sweat drop.::  Er… this is a new style for me. It's twisted. If that made sense… maybe you can explain it to me…. A child of five could understand this! Fetch me a child of Five. 

Beware the Vampire Jesus, he gave his blood for you and he wants it all back now! 

I figured that coincided with the story well enough to put it up. And isn't Disney world a people trap operated by a mouse? 

Advice for the Day: Follow your Dream. Unless it's the one where you are nakkie at work during a fire drill. Then keep dreaming till you find a better dream. One with clothes.

Joke for Chapter: If you want it email me. It's about Johnny and Mary and a Nun…. And a few other things.


	11. Chapter Twelve

*Burning Roses. *

*A Beauty and The Beast story. *

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, and Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please for the love of God, keep the first chapter's disclaimer in your mind as you read.**

** Summary: Trust me Those twists and turns come out of no where. I don't even see them coming.**

**Glad to know I influence some one. But if your Mother comes after ME with an elephant gun- with real bullets, not skittles-… well I can't say anything funny about that other then, no parties at my eulogy.  And no open coffins, it wouldn't be pretty. (and if anyone puts me in a dress, they'd better be prepared to hire an exorcist. Think of that for a little bit.)**

**Valley girls really scare me, for some odd reason. I think it's becuz they remind me of cheerleaders. I don't know why but… I'm afraid. Kinda like my best friend and old people. Then again, I'm afraid of old people too. Especially the ones in wheel chairs. You just know that if you annoy them, they are going to run you down. o.O;. **

**I love my style of writing too, because it's the only thing I own. Heh. Well, that's debatable. One of my other personalities is arguing with me right now. It helps to have MPD. Then you can switch persona's and let them write their area of expertise. Like angst… We can do killer angst. Theoretically speaking, wouldn't what I just wrote be counted as a pun? **

**A drunk? Hours? :: blinks:: Huh? Well, Sure I'll write more. It's fun. Eh, what are ya drunk on? Cuz me got smashed by Dr. Pepper. Isn't it ironic? Dr. and me got drunk off it? Herm, yah. **

**Seems that Duo and alcohol donna go good together. He has just became lethal weapon # 7 ( or would that be 6? 5?) So, Beast high tails it with Serena in tow and now the go for a jaunt in the garden. Ho hum, la de deee. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Twelve. _

Morning, blessed morning, came quickly enough. Beast supposed it had to do with the fact that while Serena stared at something from her past, Beast was staring at her, trying to unravel a bit of the mystery about her. All it got him was a headache. But he did realize something…. 

Serena had a dark past.  And he was dying to know what it was. Perhaps later he would take her out to the garden to try a weasel some of her secrets out of the dark. 

For some odd reason, he wanted to help her. 

He needed to get more sleep… that's what it was. Then he was going to ponder the meaning of his life. And heartily curse the powers that be.

Beast doubted he was going to get much sleep in the next few days. Till he either found a way to keep the vampire away or killed him. Then there seemed to be Serena's night terrors. 

Between those two elements, sleep seemed like wishful thinking. Damn, was he unlucky. 

With a gusty sigh he looked up from his breakfast plate at the golden haired girl down at the other end of the table sitting by her two mini guardians. He watched her carefully, and realized she was trembling. Strange, he hadn't noticed that before. 

She sighed, and tried to control her shaking in vain. She was just so jittery after last night's … excitement. Yeah, that's the word for it. She just needed to eat, then the jitters would go away. At least, she hoped they would, it was hard to get food to her mouth her hand was trembling so bad. 

Beside her, Duo was quite literally throwing himself into the food, wolfing it down like a rapid…wolf. There is something to be said for a tiny man that can eat ten times his weight in five seconds. That something is watch your hands, for he could just bite that hand off.

Wufei was going a little slower but was nonetheless packing away his fair share. Keep fingers away.

Both were sending little food bits flying into the air. And, Serena who sat between them was getting pummeled with the tiny crumbs. Honestly, Serena like the two fairies, really she did. But come on. Who wanted to be pummeled by bits of food? Not that she noticed. She was shaking too bad.

Surprisingly, It was Duo who noticed this little detail. He paused his attack and eyed Serena with worry. Beast had spoken to him and Wufei earlier in the morning about Serena. They were to protect her at all times, and keep an eye on her then report any developments to the mother shi… er, Beast. 

Mother ships…they don't even know about aliens yet. Pardon me, I'm watching Independence Day while I relay this tale to you. It's very influential. Hah Ha. Or, maybe it's Will Smith. 

Duo had immediately gotten into the spirit of things and was taking his duty surprisingly seriously. Wufei was still having trouble getting past the towel wrapped terror with a peashooter. Who threw him into the pink witch, which resulted in severe trauma. He was currently seeking professional help. 

Serena gave up. Her hands were shaking and she needed to eat, but she'd be damned if she was going to have someone feed her. Feh, that was an amusing mental image. Picture this: A baby Serena sitting on her diapered butt, having Beast in an apron trying to force food down her throat using the galloping horse method. Funny; hilarious even. 

It wasn't going to happen. 

Sighing, she pushed her plate away and pulled her drink; orange juice with a twist of …something in it towards her. Then she stared into the golden liquid with a bitter expression. It stared back. She blinked then squealed as Duo came up from the liquid sputtering and cursing magic's twisted humor.

" I meant to do that," He told her flatly. And shook his fist at the goblet then stuck out his tongue. 

Serena made a noise at the back of her throat, half between a growl and a groan, " Du-ooo. You ruined my drink." She stared at the duo tainted breakfast juice pointedly, then looked back at him. " I would kill you. But, Relena's behind you and she can take care of you better then I can." 

Terror flashed in the small fairy's violet orbs and with a horrified shriek he launched himself back into the goblet. Wufei had already vacated the premises. But he left a dust cloud replica of himself to show his thanks for the lovely meal.

And Relena was no where to be scream, I mean, seen. 

Serena blink, then smiled slowly and threw her head back, cackling with insane glee. So hard in fact, that tears fell from her cheeks. 

"I can't believe you fell for it, tee hee, bwahahahaha, hoo boy." 

Duo glared at her over the golden rim of the goblet, dripping orange juice. Spiked orange juice, to be precise. Uh-oh. Then he ruined the whole die now glare by hiccupping. 

Serena sweat dropped, slowly leaning away from the table. She knew full well that a drunk Duo who could work magic was not a good thing. Oh no, no, no, no, no. 

Down at his end of the table, Beast stared at the scene before him with a sinking feeling of impending doom. A drunk Duo and an on egde Serena. 

Oh joy. Why do you hate me? He thought miserably, rolling his eyes upwards. What did I ever do?  

Serena shot him a freaked out look a question in her eyes. He nodded. She swallowed, then looked back at Duo who was now engaged in a rowdy up beat tavern song. One consisting of Five well endowed blondes on a … yes well, lets not get into details. 

And those of you who are getting mental images, please take them else where. You're scaring me. Perverts. Creative perverts, but perverts nonetheless. 

" Er…. Who's up for a jaunt in the garden? Beast?" Serena deplored, eager to save her sanity and hide, as well as Beast's. Not because she liked him or anything, Ye gads, no, she just had to repay him for saving her last night. 

Where the hell did you get like from anyway? 

Beast seized this golden escape/opportunity and offered the girl his arm, which she took. Together, they made tangible tracks to the garden. And left behind a lovely dust cloud trail.

Duo looked around for his escapee audience and belched gentlemanly, " Wheresd they all goesh to?" He asked no one. Though in his state of mind he may have been directing the question to the (imaginary/alcohol induced dellusionary) buxom blonde sitting beside him, wearing …. Er….anyways. The blonde just giggled. And jiggled. 

Great, now I'm seeing AND hearing things. Fabulous. And I'm not even drunk. *** Flails * **

Out in the garden, Serena sat on the fountain heaving from their marathon paced 'jaunt'. Beast just gave a sigh of relief, not at all winded. A fact that pissed Serena off to no end. He had after all, dragged her out here. And, by some dumb flux, _she _was the one who was struggling to breath. Grrr.

 "Why'd you :: huff:: drag me? Some one :: gasp:: light a fire :: heave:: under you're tail?" 

He eyed her almost in disbelief, " Trust me, dear, You did _not _want to be around him when he is Drunk. He gets very creepy. And he_ talks _to things _we_ can't see. Fairies can't handle their liquor very well, I suppose. Wufei never touched the stuff. Neither has Quatre. Where is he by the way?" 

" Some place way away from me, I'll wager." Serena mused dryly. 

Chuckling, Beast crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall of the garden and crossing his ankles as he did so. His tail then wrapped around his legs. 

He was almost … alluring that way. 

Serena blinked at her thoughts and then proceeded to bash their brains out. Outwardly, she looked away towards the fountain, which hadn't been there yesterday. She lifted her eyebrows. Must have been the magic. The castle was strange. Very, very strange. It had the quirky tendency to change when you weren't looking.

 Which meant you ran into walls that weren't there before you blinked. Again, she spoke from experience. 

This morning on her way to the dining hall she had spent a good fives minutes yelling at the wall about the horrid details of her life and yadda yadda, so on and so forth and now you suddenly change on me and make me run into you, Ingrate! while rubbing her sore nose. It felt good to rant. Serena had thanked the wall, made an appointment for later and left.

The wall had stayed silent, perhaps too scared to say anything. Otherwise, it was really helpful. 

Then again, walls were inanimate so why on earth would it talk. Sometimes, Serena had to worry about her self. And that seemed to be happening more frequently lately. 

Beast watched Serena mull over her thoughts with a hooded gaze. While she thought about whatever, he wondered about her past. Her night terrors, her catatonia phases and her weak self confidence. All were tied to her mother in one way of another. As well as her father. 

Quite the puzzle. Heh, he'd never much liked puzzles. They gave him headaches. Then again, so did Serena. Perfect matches. 

One thing was for certain, he was going to get to the bottom of the mystery. He just wanted to help her. Then, maybe, she could help him.

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

Woo hoo, Go Toby Keith!! 0.0…erm, If you've seen his new music video "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" you'll agree with me. :: Fangirlish scream and v-sign as well as a Toby Keith flag. As well as an American flag.::

::Puts flag away and clears throat.:: Yes, well, I've had one too many Dr.Pepper's today. 

:: Coughs.:: If anyone wants the jokes, they have to …:: scratches neck nervously.::  email me. Ack!  Don't hurt me.:: Jumps behind a object in abject terror.:: Er…. Yeah, too much caffeine. I'm getting paranoid. Anyway, use email address clickermajig on the bio page thingy. Thing. Oh yes, technical terms rule. And if you leave potato chips out in Florida, they get all floppy. 

Advice for the chapter: If you can't beat your computer at chess, try kick boxing. (Oohh Kickboxing. How enjoyable. C'mere computer…bwahahahaha.)

How fitting. I've had comp problems hence the reason I have not been able to get this chapter up sooner. 

Oh and remember, odd objects draw fire; never hide behind one. So that means when your at a family reunion and all you want to do is get away from all the cheek pinchers and smoochers who leave you with lipstick marks, don't hide behind Aunt Gertrude because they'll find you any way.  Hide under a pyramid. It didn't work For Lina, but who knows, your luck may be better.


	12. Chapter Thirteen The lucky one

*Burning Roses. *

*A Beauty and The Beast story. *

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, and Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please for the love of God, keep the first chapter's disclaimer in your mind as you read.**

**     Summary: All will be answered soon my readers. **

**Bomb Shelter? Oh my…. :: looks around for bomb shelter preferably gundanium reinforced steel.:: Ah. Wait. I have the power of creativity on my side. :: holds up metallic silver pen with a crazy glint in her eyes.:: I'll make myself a Gundam. Ha ha ha. Or not. Ahem. At this point in my life, I have just one thing to say. Insanity kills. And it's so going to hurt.**

**Yeah, vending machines are very tricky. I think they are evil. And they fall on you.**

**Relena…. Well, she gets creepy in this chapter. Really creepy. Beast and Serena get a _tad _closer. But not that close. And Duo is provided with the greatest hangover cure. Fear. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Thirteen. _

Out in the garden, the birds and the bees were doing their thing. 

That didn't sound right.

Well, they were tweeting sweetly and buzzing and all that jazz. 

That really didn't sound right. 

So, anyways, the bees got their business done and left to go home. And the birds sang their ode to a beautiful morning. 

What am I, writing a sick romance here? Yeesh. 

Getting away from the demented birdies and bees, we'll look in on our prospective sweet hearts thank you very much. Yes, that would be much better and less ... Traumatizing. 

I need a coke and some aspirin. 

Serena sighed, turning her face to the sun with a soft smile. This was the life. At home, she had never been able to enjoy nature unless it was to pluck weeds from the herb and vegetable garden, and then she was always staring the soil. And the worms.  Needless to say, they weren't very interesting nor very entertaining. That and Serena was a tad squeamish. Bugs just gave her the willies. 

Every time a worm had even touched her hand she had jumped to her feet with a shriek and stomped it. Stomping was her defense mechanism. It worked like a charm. Was there any doubt about that?

Still, she did feel bad about stomping Quatre and Duo and Wufei. It had been a reflex action. She'd have to work on that. You probably couldn't go around stomping vampires and get away with it now could you? 

"Shilling for your thoughts?" Beast's voice inquired which in turn caused Serena to half jump out of her skin. She rounded on him, irritated that he had just snuck up on her and spoke into her ear like that. Was he _trying _to give her a premature heart attack? Heck, she _felt _the gray hairs sprouting already. 

She came face to face with a curious beast man. "Any one ever tell you 'Curiosity killed the cat?'" She huffed, sidling away from him as inconspicuously as she could.

"…'And satisfaction brought it back.' Yes, of course I have. Why?" 

Oh, how dare he pull that naïve act with her! 

"Hmph." She hmphed, crossing her arms. 

Beast did the innocent blink. " You aren't by any chance mad at me are you?" 

Serena fell over. " Oh, no Beast where ever did you get that idea?" Sarcasm was the honey that defined the tone of her voice. It dripped and oozed. 

Beast ignored her quip and reached a paw to help her up. She blinked at the sudden appearance of the appendage and batted it away. 

She was a firm believer in independence. Serena could pick herself up on her lonesome. She'd had to since she was six. No one else had been there to do it for her.

" I'm fine, thank you anyways." Dusting herself off, Serena made a mental note to stop wearing those jewel toned dresses. Dirt didn't go very well with them. At all. 

" So. How about that little jaunt hmmm?" Beast asked, and offered her his furred arm encased in pale blue silk. She just blinked, and with a mental shrug accepted the arm. 

And off they went. La de fricken da all the way. 

Lovely garden. Wonderful variety of roses. Fabulous array of fountains. Beautiful vines intricately scaling the garden's whitish gray walls. 

Of all this, Serena was far more aware of the creature/man guiding her through the garden. Everything else was just a background thing. It was there but she didn't see it. And, snakes were chasing the butterflies in her gut. Not very pleasant. What if he asked her about her past. What if he forced her to tell him? He had fangs. He could do that. He was bigger then her. Eeek. 

"Serena?" 

She jumped, startled, "Huh?" 

He gave her a look. " I've been calling your name for the past few minutes. Where'd you go to?"

" Um.. somewhere," She vaguely waved her hand about to emphasize her statement. A rose hue coming to her chinks, ashamed of where her doubts were going before he disturbed her from them. Of course, he'd never hurt her. Beast was nice. She could trust him. 

Couldn't she?

"Serena. You're doing it again." Beast smiled, and poked her in the side gently. Claws, mind you. And once again, She jumped but added a new move to the dance and jabbed him back. Hard.

He oofed and rubbed his ribs -for show- with the hand not attached to the arm she was occupying. 

"Wimp." 

Beast just grinned, baring long white incisor fangs, ignoring the blatant insult. She suddenly stopped and looked around. Then winced and dragged him behind a tree. 

" Why Serena, how improp—mmph." Beast's quip was cut off as Serena clamped a hand down on his muzzle and shook her head. 

Seconds later….

"Sereeeeeeeeeeeeeeenaaa!!!" 

From under his tousled bangs, Beast's eyes widened, and he tilted one ear back in a question.  Serena merely pulled him back towards the garden wall and into the shadows, whispering curses under her breath. He tried not to notice how close he was to her. Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts. Bad th--- 

"Serena! Where are you?" It was Relena, apparently. Well, no duh. Who else would have screamed at the top of her lungs like that during the early morning hours. 

As it was, the local wild life had probably had collective heart attacks from the shock of the banshee wail. Serena seemed to feel their pain, as her face was formed into a grimace. She shook her head slightly, probably to dislodge the ringing. Beast himself was seeing stars and hearing bells. 

"I'll never get used to that." The small blonde muttered. 

"Can I rip out her—mphhmphgrumhp." Yet again, he was silenced. Serena, amused, just shook her head. 

Moments passed by then a drunken curse rang through the crisp morning air. " Ack. Get away from me you she demon!! Back I shay. Or elshe. I have a uh… uh…shilver platter and I am not afraid to ushe it." 

Guess being drunk gives the drunkee more of a back bone. Duo was going good. 

"I shwear to the great god above that I will not heshitate to kill you." 

Oh yeah that was threatening. A pipsqueak giving out death threats. What a world. 

" Jesus Christ! Go _away!! I mean it!" _Duo's voice was edged in hysterics.

The liquor had gone off on a permanent vacation. 

Serena resisted the urge to run in the opposite direction and began to storm towards the voice, which was now crying desperately for help. So much for the back bone. She had to save the poor little guy, her conscience was getting on her nerves. Besides, she owed him that much. 

And she had just become the president of the Save the Fairies campaign. Time to kick some pink butt. Er…yeah. 

Relena was attempting to squeeze Duo's giblets out his rear by the looks of it. The poor little fairy was crushed to her chest in what resembled a hug but no hug had ever been fatal. Except for Aunt Gertrude's but that's beside the point. But, I'm doing fine now. Aside from the broken ribs. Auntie Gert, on the other hand, is not doing so well. 

Serena felt herself pale at the horrid site before she rushed forward and slapped Relena's hands. 

"Drop the fairy and I won't hurt you." She barked. Then caught the swirly-eyed braid boy in her hand as he fell from Relena's own startled hold. 

Beast stepped forward a frown on his feature's as Serena tried to check Duo for injuries. She found none. He was a sturdy little thing, she'd give him that. 

"Poor thing." She sighed, then pinned Relena with a glare. 

Relena was shock white and could only manage a squeak of terror as Beast lanced her with a look of death. And then Serena did as well. She feared Serena more then she did the beast. Only because she knew what Serena could do to her. 

" I thought I told you not to go anywhere near the fairies." He growled. Not a particularly comforting sound to Relena at the moment. 

" eep." She eeeped. Going even whiter. Her eyes wide. 

Serena sighed, " Relena, they are living creatures not stuffed animals." The petite girl just walked away, giving up on the situation. 

Which left Relena to the beast's mercy. 

Three feet away, Serena paused at the sound of a body hitting the floor, her left eyebrow twitching in annoyance. Relena had fainted. How Victorian. Sigh. 

Beast sweat dropped, staring down at the body that had just crumpled into a surprisingly compact heap. Well, he'd never known a girl could achieve that position so easily. 

That didn't sound right. 

He needed some …. He was going to get out of there. Serena had the right idea. Rubbing his forehead, behind which the mother of all migraines was starting to take hold, he stalked from the room. 

Serena frowned at the still dazed and confused Duo. She just didn't get her sister sometimes. The older girl acted like a four year old spoiled brat. And Serena acted like a thirty year old maid, intent on keeping what was left of her family together. 

Maid. Yes, that was the correct term for it. 

God, she hated her life.

With a self mocking smirk, she placed Duo on her bed and stared at him for a moment then got close to his ear and whispered, " Duo?"

No response. 

" Duo?"

 This time she got a twitch from his foot. 

She sweat dropped and thought about what she could do to wake the despondent mini man up. A quick look around the room showed there was nothing she could use. 

Well, there was one thing she could use. 

" Duo. What are you doing in Relena's bed?" She asked, putting the perfect amount of fear and scandal in her voice. 

A blur with a braid screeched past her and hid in her hair. 

" Save me. Save me. Save me." The blur whimpered, clinging to her neck. Serena blinked. Then thought over what she had said. 

Relena crushing him to her chest. Duo falling unconscious. Then her telling him the bed thing. 

Oh. My. God. Nightmares.

" I'm sorry Duo, I was just teasing. She's not here. You're safe." Her voice came out a tad raspy from the fairy's choke hold. 

He sighed in relief but stayed hidden in her hair. " Well. Lead the way, My guardian Angel. And if that thing comes along, you can beat her off with Wufei's pin needle." 

Not a bad idea really. Laughing, Serena waltzed from the room, Duo perched on her shoulder wearing a cheeky grin that ran ear to ear. Needless to say, he was rather pleased at his new position in life. Very pleased indeed.  

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

…I think this chapter bit the dust. The next chapter's going to be better, I promise. But, I suppose this one was interesting enough. I could smack myself. 

Ermmm, Relena is starting to scare me. I mean really scaring me. That's bad. 

Advice for the Chapter: First rule of Acting: Whatever happens look as though it were intended. And remember, Never say 'oops' always say, 'Ah, intriguing' that way, no matter what, you look like you know everything. 

No joke this time, sorry. I can't think of one. Dern. Need inspiration for basically everything. HELP!!


	13. Chapter Fourteen

*Burning Roses. *

*A Beauty and The Beast story. *

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, and Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please for the love of God, keep the first chapter's disclaimer in your mind as you read.**

** Summary: O.o? Ticklish? Uh oh. :: Panics :: NO. Nononono. No tickly. :: Runs.:: You know, it's occurred to  me. I need a life.**

**Cool, I got glomped. Wait. Is that a good thing? :: puzzled:: Yay, I have just achieved the status as Silver-chan. Me happy.**

**I think I got out of my writer's block. B-52 bombers are so fun. ::Grins::**

**Serena goes exploring with Duo on her shoulder and guess what they find out? Oh yeah. They just might have discovered the mysterious identity of the Beast. And what's this? Duo playing matchmaker? May the gods have mercy…**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Fourteen._

" What's it like being a fairy?" Serena asked, looking down a hall for a moment and trying to decide whether or not she should go down it. It had been Duo's idea that they explore the castle on the grounds that " Even _I _don't know everything about this castle. And I've been around. So, I propose we explore it. Come on, it'll be fun." 

What could she say? She was a sucker for the whole big amethyst puppy dog eyes. 

Hence she was now wondering down the enchanted halls on the singular purpose of expanding her knowledge of said castle. How stupid could she get? And with a fairy, a mischevious previously drunk fairy, no less. 

Did she hit her head last night? That must have been it, otherwise she might have told Duo to give it up and let go of her neck. 

Then again, she was intrigued by the whole magical castle deal and wanted to know more about it. She just hoped she wouldn't get lost. 

" S'okay." He muttered, "But, I prefer being a human. The world isn't as dangerous then." 

" Not really. Everything in this world has some danger to it. No matter how small you are. I should know." Serena sighed, and started down another, brighter hall.  

The other one had crept her out. 

Duo scratched his head, " I guess you have a valid point." 

" Of course." Her tone was neither smug nor filled with any other emotion. It was only a statement of fact. She knew she was right. Experience was talking. Again.

It talked too much. 

The hall suddenly got darker and more drab. 

" Ooh. Never been down here before." Duo stated, adding a dose of mystery and a splash of intrigue to his tone. Serena came up short peering down the hall into the maw of near darkness with something akin to indecision apparent in her eyes.

To walk down uncharted territory to her almost certain doom in a castle where nothing stays the same or continue down the safest course available. 

Decisions, Decisions. 

Leap of faith. Heh. Why not? "All right. Let's go." Serena picked up her feet and started forward once more. What was there to be afraid of? 

She had a fairy sitting on her shoulder whom could work magic. 

Oh yeah, she was dead. 

What fun.

Beast crouched beside a dead doe, and examined the still, cold, corpse. He had just found it. Not only was her neck broken but her blood had been leached. 

Prime suspect: Vampire. 

Wasn't that obvious? 

He knew who it was as well. Guess he had to play the guard dog to Serena's damsel in distress. 

How thrilling. Making a mental note to talk to the powers that be about his lot in life, he stood up smoothly and continued on his nature walk. Nature was a wonderful thing indeed. Very refreshing and invigorating to the spirit. It was something his frazzled psych needed desperately. Currently, he was having serious doubts about allowing that man, Kenneth was it?, to talk him into talking his two daughters. Well, not that he had had the chance to object the notion, he hadn't gotten so much as a word in edgewise. 

In between the blubbers and the whimpers of ' don't eat me' and all that, Beast had just stood there wondering where the hell the nut had come from and trying to figure out how to get him off his land the cleanest way possible.

And then the whole " Take my daughter, She's pretty." had smacked him from his thoughts and he remembered something of what the woman who had cursed him had said, roughly translated, " Find a broad who likes you even if you are hideous and get her to love ya then love her and, if ya want to, bed her." 

Now, here he was, two females in the castle and his life of easy bachelorhood gone. And to make it worse, he only had one chance at love or he'd be a beast forever.

Where was the fairness in that? 

The serenity of the forest ruined, Beast rounded back towards the castle and began to jog through the brush silently on padded feet. 

The hairs on the back of Serena's neck were prickling as she moved slowly, warily, down the darkened hall. Duo was experiencing the same feelings of past ghosts that she was feeling. They couldn't shake the feelings of eyes digging into their backs. 

Serena was grumbling to herself, " I should have never let you talk me into this, you fruitcake." As well as growling about how much she _hated_ ghost's. Duo didn't blame her for the last bit, but he was rather annoyed at the fruitcake jab. 

" I am _not _a fruitcake!" He protested, flailing and nearly falling off her shoulder. Steadying himself, he continued to rant and rage, going off about all sorts of things, like how he had a braid yes, but he was in no way shape or form gay, nor was he a tart, as _some _people may believe. However, Serena was not listening, she had lost interest at 'I am not…' and was instead looking at a portrait on the wall.

That in itself may not have been unusual, but for the fact that the only wall decorations she had seen thus far had been tapestries. Not once, had she seen any signs of  paintings or portraits. 

" Hey, Do you know where we are?" Serena asked, reaching towards the golden frame holding the painting to the wall. 

Duo ran out of steam and looked around a moment. " I'd say the Family uh…hall thing." 

Something wasn't right. He didn't know what but something was definitely not right.  It was a niggling little feeling at the back of his mind and it was ever so slowly moving forward. Like a slug. He didn't particularly care for slugs. And it was leaving a slime trail. 

Eww.

This only spurred him faster. 

" How very astute of you, Duo. Do you have any other observations you'd like to let me in on?" 

"Yeah. Watch out for that-"

SLAM!

" Sigh …wall. Ouch. Did that hurt?" Duo, being the lucky little avian that he was had lifted off from her shoulder and now hovered over a starry eyed Serena, gibbering about something or other. 

She shook her head and regained her bearings quickly enough. " I HATE THESE WALLS!!" 

" Eventually, you learn to love them." Duo stated helpfully. 

The only reply was a muffled grunt from Serena as she rubbed her face with a scowl. "Stupid, magical, piece of …wall. Your mother's a fraggin aardvark." 

The wall didn't take to kindly to that and decided to leave. 

Serena blinked when the wall just left.  Just up and left. 

" ….M'kay. That was something you don't see everyday." She said, trying to get over the fact that a wall had just moved. Running into one when your not looking is one thing, but watching them up and waltz off was quite another. 

" See, wasn't that neat?" chirped Duo. All Serena could do was roll her eyes, and start walking again. Duo flitted over and settled back on her shoulder as they traversed deeper into the 'Family uh… hall thing' 

" Oh my god, that man's huge!"

" Actually, I think that's a woman Duo." 

"….Eck, that's not right!" 

"….sigh"

" Hey who's that?" Duo pointed to a slightly less aged portrait that hung slightly askew on the wall. Serena's eyes darted to it and she was struck by a cord of familiarity. 

Beast rushed through the corridors unnerved by the feeling of not rightness. 

Serena moved closer to the portrait, staring into the young noble man's intense gaze, trying to figure out who he was. 

Duo looked askance at Serena and gave himself a mental pat on the back. 

" Isn't that-" Serena's voice was cut off by another. Only, this one was darker in coloration and had a slight ache to it, if such a thing were plausible. 

" Me?" 

Serena whirled around, and her mind immediately clicked. 

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

Mwuahahahahaha. Cliff hangover. Mwuaheheheh, ::gags:: ::coughs:: * Ahem * Note to self never try to laugh like a psychotic maniac when one has bronchitis.:: Chuckles silently:: teeheehehehehehe. Yup, that's right. I've been sick for a while now, and my mum has just concluded that what I have could either be bronchitis of the humidity trying to murder my lungs. ::gets odd mental image to go along with that thought:: Hermph. Ah, fabulous. 

::Tweaks:: Anyways. Enough of that. It's about time I got to another good twist. Or would this be turn? Erkay. Perhaps, it's not much of either, you all probably saw this coming. Who do you think it is? Huh? Huh? C'mon guess. It's no fun if you don't guess.

Advice for Chapter: 

If you walk under a ladder and it falls down it probably means bad luck. And! Never believe everything you think. There could be voices in your head. :: pauses to have a nice little chat with the resident voices in head::  

Joke for chapter: A girl walks into her mothers room and lifts up her Barbie doll™. The doll has needles and other various pointy objects stuck into her face. The mother nearly faints, staring at her 6 year old child in something akin to horror. " What are you doing?" She asks. 

The little girls smiles and tells her mommy, " I'm practicing to be an acupuncturist when I grow up!"  


	14. Chapter Fifteen

*Burning Roses. *

*A Beauty and The Beast story. *

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, and Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please for the love of God, keep the first chapter's disclaimer in your mind as you read.**

** Summary: ::sits there and stares at all the reviews blankly, then goes, :: Whoa. **

**Do I have to stay in Bed to get rid of this?! Huhn, no fair!! I hate beds. Grrr. Well, thanks for the get well motive. I will. Maybe I can declare a cold war on the bacteria…**

**I love horses. I could go on about them forever and ever. E-mail me if you want Details. I rode bare back or Australian.  I rode English once. Felt like I was riding a slip and slide. It was fun though. And western. I rode all of them I guess. **

**:: Shudders:: I hate needles. One time, I was 6 or 9, a nurse tried to stick a needle in me and I kicked her. True story. Ask my Dad. Oh was he ashamed…**

**I guess Squirrel is my manager of sorts. Heh, cool.  But I am still Silver-Chan, so neah heah. :: pauses then blushes and looks down at floor:: Erm, well, yea, anyways. ::Cough cough:: Ack, need ..air. **

**I did get out of my writers block. B-52's are so cool. Especially the little clicky thing. You press the little button and it clicks then things go BOOM! Fun Fun.  **

**And thanns a lot for the comment on my Vydain picture! **

**Serena now knows who Beast is. And Beast is mad. They have a bit of a fight in which Beast discovers a little something called guilt. And a great feeling of stupidity.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Fifteen._

Anger and betrayal are very dark and dreadful emotions. They have the ability to blind one to anything except the hues of red and black. As was the colors Beast was seeing at the moment. 

Fear and shock are two very paralyzing feelings. They have the ability to cause your muscles to freeze and your brain to start working over time. As were the symptoms Serena was experiencing at the moment. 

The knowledge that your butt just may become the next moving target is a great motivator indeed. It has the ability to make you move very fast in the other direction. As was what Duo was doing at this very second. 

Duo glanced once at Beast then twice at Serena and declared the situation unhealthy for him, then took off back down the corridor at full tilt. He may run and he may hide…

Now reader, I realize you are thinking something along the lines of 'that little twit, abandoning her like that! Why I outa…'. I would like to insert a thought here. It goes a little something like this. 'Well, if Duo runs and stays alive we get to see him again and not as a corpse either. Go Duo, fly fast.' Yes, that's how bad the situation is looking to turnout. 

" It's you!" Serena squeaked, pointing at Beast limply. Stark disbelief in her blue eyes. 

  Beast seemed to flinch, and drew himself to his full height. 

" Correction. It was Me. As you can very well see I am not that way anymore." His voice was flat, the emotion nearly gone. All except for the dark ones. Beast felt as though he had just been betrayed.  Though in a way, he hadn't been. He'd never told Serena where she could and couldn't go in the castle. 

But he hadn't wanted her to see him as he was human. For now when she looked at him, she saw what he was instead of how e is. And she felt disgust and pity for him. He didn't want that. 

He wanted acceptance. And maybe love. 

Serena put her hand to her mouth to shut herself up. She didn't take to the fact that she had just squeaked out something so stupid. Her mindless little blurt must have hurt him. Oh, god, not good. When would she ever learn to shut up? It had been her fault that she had ended up here with Relena in the first place, then she had to go and make enemies with Beast, not that that lasted long, but she had cherished their friendship. He'd been her first true friend. And she probably just blew that sky high. She was such a fool.

Someone kill her, kill her now. 

I'm afraid I can't do that dear. You are needed for the story line. So shut up and take it like a woman. 

She looked up at him and dropped her hand so she could beg his forgiveness. It hurt her to know she had been so stupid to hurt him. Despite all outward fronts she put up, Serena was not so cruel. 

" Beast…I'm so—" She began, only to be cut off. 

" Disgusted, sorry? Of course you are, pity me, go ahead." He growled. 

" No, I d—" 

" Then turn and run. Just like a delicate lady should in the face of danger." 

Serena flinched from that barb, and decided it best to just remain quiet. Fools talk, the wise listen. She was not saying that Beast was a fool, not at all.

He continued, unaware that she was staring at the ground making no move to deny his accusations or make her own, " Why are you here any way? Who said you could come to this place?" A paw flew out to encompass the corridor.

" I was sold by my father and you never said anything about boundaries." She murmured softly, then suddenly looked up eyes blazing.

 Sometimes wisdom needs to be shared.

"What?" Funny, he sounded scandalized. Her eyes stared strait into his own, the same that had been in the portrait.

 " And I'm sorry if you think that about yourself, that you're disgusting, and that I pity you. I don't. And you aren't. What I'm really sorry for is that you're stuck in the image of how you see yourself, and are so caught up in self pity that you don't realize that other people, people like me, don't care about that, I don't see a hideous creature. I see a man. And you know what? You're more of a man then my father, then any other man I've had the misfortune to meet. You have a heart, and you're kind. You're not like every other man." 

She turned around and walked off calmly. At her sides, her small hands curled into fists, and had he have been in front of her he might have seen her angry tears. But he wasn't so he remained ignorant of her pain. 

At the end of the hall, she stopped, " I'm sorry that I hurt you Beast. I never meant to." Then she was gone. 

And Beast was feeling very stupid. 

" No wonder that witch turned me into a beast. I am one. Damn it all."  He sighed and Looked to the portrait of the young man. The beautiful, vain thing he had been so long ago. 

Scowling he turned away and stormed off. 

Under the silent portrait of a stoic young man, red chestnut bangs partially shielding his face and a half of his jaded gaze, there was a name-plait. Old, tarnished and dusty, the inscription was still readable. " Trowa Barton IV. 1789 - ___" 

And, behind the young man, there was a rose, pure white in every sense of the word. But, the rose itself was burning. That was the curse. And now it seemed more then ever, that the rose was burning brighter then it ever had.

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

Ohhhh. If anyone finds Serena's speech offensive, please don't get mad(Get Glad. Heh, sorry couldn't resist…).  You'll see the reason for her generalization soon. But, my, a fight. Oi, and we see another side of Serena. Where do they all come from…. Jeeze, you think you know a girl.

By the way, that joke in the last chapter, I made it up. Ha ha. I was talking to a friend and just rattled that off, then thought ' Whoa, wait, that's a funny ha ha joke. I'm putting that in my chapter. ' And I think that's about when the writers block went boom. HAHAHHAH. :: hacks:: Good grief. Life's no fun if you can't laugh.   

Advice for Chapter: Never argue with an idiot, onlookers can't tell the difference. That's why I never argued with my cousin where I could just poke him with a jab or two then laugh my head off when he didn't get what I was saying. He thought he was so smart. The twip. 

Joke: I don't have one….drat. 


	15. Chapter Sixteen

*Burning Roses. *

*A Beauty and The Beast story. *

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, and Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please for the love of God, keep the first chapter's disclaimer in your mind as you read.**

** Summary: ::Squeals:: I surprised you all! Booyah! :: laughs at lame joke because boredom is controlling her mind::**

**Oh, It's so nice to know someone loves horses as much as I do. We'll talk over tea sometime! Like, oh how fun! **

**:: runs and gingerly glomps pony, careful not to hurt him.:: I dub thee, errr… gotta think about it.  ::Stares at sixteen wheeler, with a look of pure glee on her face.:: I know my mom's not going to be happy with this. **

**The vampire is a surprise dude! HA! Guess, I dare ya! Er, chocolate, it make my head go round. **

**I'm Silver-Chan now. Eh, eat yer heart out whoever wants to…. **

**Anyways, Serena returns to her room, and Quatre's back. The fairies seem to be planning something….Dun dun dun.  Beast has a chat with the vampire, who then goes and finds out what makes Relena just a little bit TERRIFYING!!! AHHHH!! What fun, what fun.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Sixteen._

" Let me get this strait, you left her there with him when he was angry? You ran?" 

" Actually, technically, I flew." Duo pointed out helpfully, sitting on Serena's bed across from a newly recovered Quatre. He also made little flapping motions with his hands like some demented bird with a braid. Quatre just looked at him. 

Duo frowned. Then he broke, " Oh all right I ditched her okay?  Now stop doing that." 

The other fairy tilted his head quizzically, " Doing what?" 

"That! With the.. the eyes and the head and… just stop." Duo wailed, covering his eyes with his hands trying to black the too cute Quatre from his site. The blonde little fairy was making him feel guilty. He hated feeling guilty. 

Quatre sighed and shook his head at his immature friend and fellow fairy. His first impression of Serena had been just that; an impression of her boot, but after, when Duo had pulled the 'lets go mental and watch her bath because I like being suicidal' trick and she had taken pity on him, he had figured she wasn't all that bad.

And now, she was going to be beast chow. 

" Duo, you chicken shit wimp!" 

Said idiot flopped over from the shock of being insulted by the other fairy. Wow, that was a new one. He looked at Quatre from over the comfy bed covers and from under chestnut bangs darkly. 

" And you chose now to grow a fricken back bone and actually degrade someone? Given it wasn't much of a barb. Tch, it was lame and unoriginal.…" Though his voice was muffled Quatre heard him quite well and went pink in the cheeks from the insult. 

Duo sat up and straitened his clothing robotically, all the while looking at Quatre in a way that made te other fairy's skin twitch under his left eye. 

" I have an idea to patch things up." He said at long last. " No where's Wu-man…?"

Quatre thought he heard the world scream in terror but, no, it was just him.  

" Allah save me…" 

Serena stormed. She had always been good at that particular action. Flouncing hadn't been her style. And it wouldn't have been very fair to be expected to do something she wasn't good at thus she was doing what she _was _good at. Which would be storming. Flouncing was for ninnies who enjoyed gaining attention. Storming was for someone who was entirely too ticked to voice. This was signified by the fists curled at her sides, her short nails hence creating small moon shaped impressions in her palms. 

She kept her chin up, determined not to break down. " I will not cry. I will not cry, crying means defeat and I have not lost _anything_. I will not cry." Thus went the mantra though it was a weak one at that. Tears were water and water went where it pleased. This time it was going down her cheeks in hot streaks and dripping from her chin onto her gown. She would then wipe her nose with her hankie. Waterfall, rinse and repeat.

And now, to top it all off. She was lost. It would take her a few moments to register this. I suggest we plug out ears. 

" OH FER CRYING OUT LOUD. I HATE THIS FUCKING CASLTE!!!" Ohh, three exclamation marks. How talented. 

She needed to stomp someone. 

Eh? What'd she say? Erg, nevermind… I'll just have to take these earplugs from my ears. They are very handy dandy when trying to block out bad words, screams of pain and all that. Really. 

Needless to say the dam broke and it all came flooding out. She plopped to the plush red carpet with a thunk, her skirts fluttering out with a slight whoosh. 

" What did I ever do to deserve this life, huh? Was I evil in a past life or was I an evil child? Did I terrorize bugs and rip their little wings off or what?" At the back of her mind, her logical side was glibly pointing out she was being overly dramatic. Serena gave it the bird and told it to bugger off. 

She was in no mood to argue with inner voices. 

She sniffled pathetically, and smashed a fist into the wall beside her. Pain jolted up the length of her arm and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Holding her agonized arm to her chest she began rocking. The comfort of the motion calmed her down and she began to remember the first time she had ever done this. 

The night of her mother's death. And she saw it all. 

With a whimper, Serena clutched her head in her hands and tried to stop the memories. She didn't want to remember. She wanted to forget.

" oh, my, how very smooth of you Beast." 

Beast was suddenly hit with the urge to sink his teeth into the vampire's throat and rip his spinal cord out through his neck. Colorful images there. Go figure the damned creature would hide in the darkest parts of the castle. 

" Shut up." Beast snarled. Then as an afterthought, " Go to hell." 

" How lovely. Are you always this charming? Ahh, no wonder that little blonde ran from you." The vampire added a delicate chuckle. Delicately evil that is. 

That urge turned into a blazing wild fire. Control Beast, control. He may be undead but he still bleeds. And the rug would be ruined. It was such a lovely rug with such ravishing rug like qualities. Control.

" Should I take care of her for you? I do believe she is a few halls down and near the dining room crying her little heart out right about….now. My my, she just punched the wall. Violent little thing isn't she?" The vampire grinned, fangs glinting.

"Stop tampering with the castle's magic." Beast grumbled, entirely too tired to deal with a smiling sadistic undead stiff who needed to get a life and perhaps even a good lay. 

Suddenly he stopped, a wicked thought imbedding itself in his mind. 

" Hey, I know, why don't you conjure up a white charger and visit that little girl down in the pink room. I'm sure you can get her easily." He watched intently as the vampire suppressed a delighted shudder and turned back to the shadows. He was obviously going to take him up on the offer. 

" I almost feel sorry for the bastard…." He muttered and turned to head down the hall, in search of the other girl. The one he had hurt. 

Seconds later Beast watched in bemused silence as the Vampire reappeared in front of him, looking a little ruffled. 

" That was low.. Very low." Vampykins reprimanded, and continued to tremble at the horror of what he had seen. 

It was Beast's turn to offer a smirk, " Perhaps I should have warned you, but, well, I didn't care to." 

" You are cruel. That's where you problem lies." The vampire left, possibly to get the lipstick from his silken shirt lapels.

And Beast was left staring at the place where he had been. 

What was this? That little undead wanker offering his input in the situation. All right. When was the world ending? 

With another mutter he went back to his task and padded down the halls, listening for, what the vamp had said, cries.

If you were supposed to feel so empty after a good cry, Serena figured she could get used to it. Emptiness was easy to deal with. Well, ne, she didn't actually feel empty. More lethargic and… untouchable on the emotional level. She felt drunk. She had not been drunk in a long time, 4 years, but she remembered how it felt for her. 

She was almost giddy with inebriated cheerfulness. How depressing. So was staring at a wall blankly. It was all so very sad. 

Deciding there was nothing for it, she got up and, ignoring the wrinkles in her dress, started down the hall once again, heading toward the general direction of "Now, where the hell is my room?" 

 She disappeared just before Beast turned to look down the hall. Which may or may not have been a good thing. Depending on who you were at least. 

Serena didn't want to be bugged, bothered or anything.

And Beast wanted to talk to her, to apologize. 

Oh, but I'm having none of that. I want to play up the melodrama, wrench the dark emotions out into the open and guide them towards love with a good swift kick in the right direction. You can't very well do that in under five minutes. Well, you can, but the problems that will spring up…oh, they are bloody annoying. 

*Ahem* Anyways, aside from my little matchmaker attempts, why don't we drop in on my little pawns, er, pretend I said friends. 

Duo and Quatre looked up when the door creaked open and Quatre had to control the sudden roses blooming in his cheeks. The thorns were pricking him. 

Duo grinned devilishly, and jabbed the other fairy with delighted cackle. This in turn only caused Quatre to get even more red in the face. Such an interesting shade of red it was.  

Serena looked up, eyed the two fairies a moment then threw her hands into the air. 

"Why me?" 

" Er, hey Ren? Wasup?" Duo asked, sweat dropping but nonetheless keeping the cheerful devil may care tone.

Serena's only answer was a glare and the bird. 

"Shut up, you chicken livered munchkin." She stomped over to the bed and threw herself onto it, which sent two little fairies sailing through the air flailing as they went.

" You have wings, use them." She huffed, annoyed at their dramatics. 

Both air-born missiles also known as Duo and Quatre blushed and sweat dropped. Then snatched themselves from a nose dive just barely. Each were feeling very foolish. And both were concerned for their, albeit violent, friend. 

" Miss Serena, Are you all right?" Quatre, the ever polite one asked gently, floating to hover just in front of him. Serena broke into a keening wail and pointed to the door. " HE is such a jerk! He doesn't understand anything. Nothing at all. He's a blind bloody fool. Do you have a hankie." 

Quatre blinked and wordlessly took out a small fiary sized hanky. The girl took one look at it, then at him and bawled her eyes out, then grabbed him from the air into a hug. 

" If only other men were as sweet as you Quatre!" 

Duo scratched his head, entirely lost. "Did I miss something?" 

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

I :: falls back:: think my fingers hurt. I don't know, they're numb. Grrr. So does my brain. And my eyes. And my throat. Maybe it was that Cajun chicken pasta I ate. Oh, but was it good. It was my b-day dinner. I have to recommend it for those of you who like spicy foods. I rate it Five Stars. 

Soooo. How many girls out there like Val Kilmer? :: grin:: Oh I just love his voice. :: goes SD and clutches fists under chin with a fangirlish squeal:: And his eyes….::shuts up:: 

Advice for the Chapter: If you know what's goof for you, you will do what the voices in your head tell you to. That way if you get caught, you at least get a lovely padded room and a strait jacket. 

Strait jackets are loads of fun. Try chewing your way out. That's what the voices tell me to do. :: Men in white suits come up. Did I mention they are hot? " Hiya!" They pick her up and carry her off. Waves.:: I'll be back next chapter!! So, which one's of you is taking me to dinner? It is my birthday you know…..blah blah, yak yak, yadda yadda.


	16. Chapter Seventeen

*Burning Roses. *

*A Beauty and The Beast story. *

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, and Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please for the love of God, keep the first chapter's disclaimer in your mind as you read. Cuz I own nadda. And sue me and you get S.O.S. (Shit on a shingle. Actually, it's pretty good on toast. Army food. They called it that for some reason. It's chipped beef and gravy, so please wipe those bad thoughts from yer mind! Now!**

**          Summary: I am so sorry for not putting this up sooner. I just started High School. ::Feels like dying:: And I am so exhausted…. Anyways…**

**:: gets all teary eyed and sentimental. Grabs a hankie from god knows where and buries face in it:: Ohhhh, you are all so nice to me!! :: Sobs:: I feel all warm and fuzzy. And, between you and me, my cheeks are beginning to hurt from this big cheesy grin I'm wearing. Good grief, I'm a sap. :: pauses and turns off water works.:: … morning and sleep and…eck, why am I even up? :: smacks forehead.:: 0.o? Where did that come from? **

**Hey, wait, is that a horse ranch? With horses? And trailers? And fences. ( now I wonder why there would be fences, I mean sure they are fun to jump over, and all that. I think horses should have more freedom. I hate seeing like four horses in a small pasture. It annoys me. You're not supposed to annoy a crazy person)**

**::Glows with happiness.:: I think I should have a birthday bi-annually. It's so fun.**

**Duo schemes and conspires. Serena bawls along with Quatre and things get even stranger when the all get together for a forgiving fest. How fun. Meow. Lets go horseback riding. And I mean that in the cleanest way possible, you echis. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

_Chapter Seventeen._

Three days may have passed, but the situation got no better between Serena and Beast. Not that Serena was helping any. She was putting her stealth and Duo's magic to good use to keep herself from Beast. 

It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to him, she wanted to, God, she wanted to. But she was no good with confrontation, and what if he was still mad with her? She did not want to make things worse then they were, and she didn't want to make a fool of herself. Besides, who wants to deal with an ugly snoop anyway. 

Suffice to say she was feeling really low in spirits. Sixty feet under to be precise.

Duo, the little tweaker that he was, did his best to cheer her up, which often ended with Quatre beet red, Serena clutching her sides with laughter and Duo grinning cheekily at them all, quite smug and pleased with his inane chatter and wit.

They stayed in her room, most of the time, the doors and windows locked. Wufei had not yet returned from where ever he had gone to and Relena was no one cares where so there where no worries. 

To pass the time, Serena would read them stories from her books, and she read with a flair and a passion that kept them glued to the edge of their seats. Duo had fallen over once, but aside from the bump on his noggin, which may have been there before, he was doing smashing. 

Not literally. There was nothing his size he could smash. It was an expression. 

At the moment, Serena was reading from book of poems and philosophy. Duo and Quatre were avid listeners, and hung on her every word. She loved it. Shakespeare did that, you know.  Gained avid listeners, I mean.

" ' O me, what eyes hath Love put in my head, Which have no correspondence with true sight! Or, if they have, where is my judgment fled, That censure falsely what they see aright? If that be fair whereon my false eyes dote, What means the world to say it is not so? If it be not, then love doth well denote Love's eye is not so true as all men's no. How can it? O, how can Love's eye be true, That is so vex'd with watching and with tears? No marvel then though I mistake my view: The sun itself sees not till heaven clears.'" Serena took a breath, winding up for the last part and to see if she still had her audience in her hand. Not literally of course. They were. 

Deep breath expelled and another one taken, she picked up where she left off, putting the emotions she believed to be appropriate for the last of the sonnet. And a little of her own. " ' O cunning Love with tears thou keep'st me blind. Lest eyes well seeing thy foul faults should find.'" 

Quatre was leaking rivers from his eyes and sniffling , Duo was as far from the other fairy as he could get and holding a small throw pillow over his head to avoid the tears and snots. 

All in all, they looked quite hilarious like that. Also, Duo was squeezing the water from his semi-drenched braid with a dark expression, muttering a few choice words here and there. Some of which consisted of PMS or mad cow disease or something of the sort.

 Serena wasn't too sure, and catching a dark glance shot in her direction sent by the braid boy made the corners of her mouth twitch in amusement. 

Five heartbeats later, Serena was sitting on her bum, laughing herself sick. It had a hysterical edge to it, tears dripping from her cheeks.   

She blubbered out a few words and started flooding. Speaking of mood swings and PMS….

Ahem, anyways, aside from _that _little tidbit of the female psychology, which we will not get into because I don't want to get into it…Eck, yeah, well, moving on. 

Shadows were very, very handy. Handy because you can use them for whatever convenient spying and/ or surveillance you happen to be doing. Not that that's what he would have called it per say, he wasn't that desperate for a peashooter to the head and a knee to the groin. 

That was masochistic. He was not masochistic. Despite popular belief… nor was he sadistic.  

That of course, may have been debatable at any other time, but he was not interested in that right now. 

I am. And yet, that is another story all together, one I particularly don't feel like writing right now. After the first hundred or so tortures and such it does get rather redundant. I hate monotony.

Anyways. 

He had heard her throughout the speech, magic aiding him a little in the hiding part. And, to put it bluntly, the irony was giving his cynical side a free dinner. With candlelight and all other such niceties. Thank you's and welcome to the club's were exchanged genially, and Beast stood there looking like he was going to hit his head against the wall any second now. 

Women. He swore they had some sort of powers to twist a man's perceptions and blind him and warp his mind and… you get the idea.  

When that thought mill finished, his sense of irony giggled like a giddy courtroom lady and pointed at him declaring he had just proved her words, though recited they were, right. Sort of.

How freaky. Maybe he should lay off the wine and ale from now on. 

Heh. Right. 

That would happen and pigs would fly. Oh! look there goes another oinker.

 Shaking his head, Beast slinked off, intent on getting someone to examine his head. He'd heard Wufei had a good shrink. Maybe he'd try that. And if that didn't work, walls were handy. Either way…

As Lady Luck would have it, Duo saw the beast and an idea of evil matchmaking origins began to boil, boil and toil and trouble, and all that weird witch stuff he seemed to have an uncanny knack for. 

Oh dear. 

" Hey, Ren, lets go out to the…stables." The stables was were the ol' beat man went to when he was feeling very antsy of otherwise self destructive. Duo knew him well, at least, he liked to think he did. 500 years had taught him all of Beasts habits. Besides, he liked horses and Ren had admitted to him she didn't know how to ride. 

Well, what a wonderful way to teach her, no?

She hiccupped and wiped her nose, blinking at him blearily. " What?" 

Duo sighed and rolled his eyes. " Were going to the stables. You are depriving yourself of fresh air and it's causing you to have break downs. I'm getting soaked by the both of you ninnies. You make me sick!" Grumping to himself, Duo gathered the magic needed for transport and wiggled his nose cutely for show. 

In the next instant, Serena was sitting in a pile of…. Hay. 

Bet you thought I was going to say horse doo eh? Ha ha. Got you.

She blinked, and sneezed, then scrambled to her feet and glaring braided murder at the small fairy soon to be known as one dead Duo. The ducks were going to have a field day with this one. Cracking her knuckles in an especially creepy way, she advanced on a very freaked out Duo clutching his poor victimized braid and hiding behind a fairy shield, also known as Quatre. Who was still sniffling and leaking streams. 

" Don't hurt me. I swear, I'm innocent." 

" I don't want to be here Duo, I just want to stay in my room and die." Serena grated through clenched teeth, but she stopped her Advance of Horrible, Painful, scissory death to the braided one™. For which Duo thanked the powers that be and blubbered a I'll never do it again, then lit off with Quatre in tow like a streak of lightening with Relena on it's tail. All the while griining like a fricken Cheshire cat. 

Serena had this very sudden sinking feeling in her belly. Like her intestines just went on vacation and there was nothing to hold up her stomach. She had a sudden gory vision of her stomach acids raining down, unfiltered, onto her kidneys. 

Yikes.  

Gulping, she turned around to see the reason why the hairs on the back of her neck were standing at attention. Said reason stared strait back at her from the back of a great black dappled Percheron champing at it's bit impatiently. 

She immediately felt like crawling under a rock, or maybe into one of those lovely little dark stalls and trying her hardest to die. 

" …Hi, Beast." Fancy meeting you here, she didn't say, now if you don't mind I have a fairy to skin alive. 

Beast could not believe the audacity of that damned fairy. He was willing to bet the farmer that Duo had planned this. Little pest. 

" Hello Serena. Would like to join me for a ride?" He asked politely, keeping all evidence of emotion from his tone. Before him, Serena found her feet fascinating and muttered something to them. 

" Beg pardon?" 

" I said I don't know how to ride." 

For a giddy moment, Beast had this vision of Serena in his arms as they galloped over a field laughing merrily. 

Yikes.

" Then ride with me." 

There was a request for death somewhere in there, he just knew it. 

" All right."

There was a strange feeling lingering somewhere in her, she just knew it. It was scaring her. 

" Meow." 

Both humanoids sweat dropped at the sudden interruption in the tension. 

Guess who.

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

{ **Taken from The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Sonnets, page 1518 column one, CXLVIII} Okay, I feel so bad. I feel so very lame too. This chapter really ragged. 

Please don't kill me. It's cruel. There were some good points in this chapter. But, seeing as how my brain is fried extra crispy, there aint many. 

Advise for the day: I believe in Unicorns. They live in my head. I also belong to the House A Mythological Creature In Your Head fund. Join and become a member today! 

-_-. Jokes invisible. If you can read these next few lines, you have very good imagination.


	17. Chapter Eighteen

*Burning Roses. *

*A Beauty and The Beast story. *

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: None yet.**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, and Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: Please for the love of God, keep the first chapter's disclaimer in your mind as you read. Cuz I own nadda(well, actually, technically, I own my art and a few other things). And sue me and you get S.O.S. (Shit on a shingle. Actually, it's pretty good on toast. Army food. They called it that for some reason. It's chipped beef and gravy, so please wipe those bad thoughts from yer mind! Now!**

**          Summary: I know what they are, so no need to pitch Bob at me. Nice to meet you Bob. I've housed my Unicorn for…uh…ever. He's always been there. And he protects me from the voices in my head. That's why I'm so confused, and yet, so very nice. **

**Yer welcome for putting Luna in. I was going to put her in later. But, she was useful. And…well, you'll see what I mean in the next chapter.**

**And, yes it is a cat. College?! Eeek. :: starts hyperventilating:: I feel for you, really I do.**

**Insanity is a life saver in a scary, roundabout sort of way. Yesterday, I started talking to myself because I was trying to keep from falling asleep and people just ... kinda looked at me. I feel so abused. :: sniffles dramatically.::**

**:: begs forgiveness:: I am so sorry I didn't get ch.17 out sooner. I was so bogged down by school and homework, I swear the teachers try to break your will the first day. The whole system is out to get me!! :: left eyebrow twitches:: Oh well, chances are I'll pull through. **

**Okay, as for what happens, Serena is left alone with one determined to scare the proverbial crap outa her Beast, who then hauls her onto the horse with him and off they ride into the sunset. Well, not really, it just sounded more romantic that way. And, Beast is forgiven. And guess what else. Serena calls him by his real name!! **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

_Chapter Eighteen._

All right readers, I would like to know one thing. Have any of you ever lost a pet? I mean like they simply vanished, and after a while you start freaking because you want your baby back, and not the ribs, but she/he/it is nowhere to be found. And then, one day out of the blue, the pets back and you feel so fricken happy it's not even funny? Don't laugh. I mean it, don't. Don't even smile. I swear to god almighty that if you smile…

 Anyways, you grab them up and nearly squeeze their little brains out for putting you through such heart ache? Well? Have you? Yes? No? 

If it's yes, then you are one lucky person, you…person. Pretend that hurt. That and you know exactly how Serena feels. Maybe that's irrelevant.

If it's no, then dammit, I wanna be like you. Pretend to feel grateful. And, yes, that was irrelevant.

Do I sound sarcastic? Do forgive me, I beg you. Not that I'm on my knees or anything, that's a move I spare only in a desperate situation. I don't see any torches or pitch forks. Yet. 

Anyways. 

Serena swooped down on Luna faster then you can say " Kitty, kitty go squeal, erm, meow." She felt so peachy keen happy at having her baby back, no not baby back ribs,… If you're that hungry go eat, I'll still be here when you get back , I swear… that she held the black fur ball in desperate need of a bath to her chest and nuzzled into the purring fur. Luna managed a squeak of affection through the compacted kitty ribs. 

Serena let her hold loose and held Luna up to get a good look at her. Luna blinked her amber red eyes at her mistress and meowed again cutely. 

In response, Serena cooed and began to mother hen the startled cat. 

" Luna! Why are you so dirty? What on earth have you been …" she took a whiff of the cat and made a gagging noise, " tch, rolling in?"

" Meow." 

" You bad cat, you should feel ashamed of yourself." 

" Merrroww…?"

" Don't try that with me, it won't work. I'm going to give you a bath… hey get your little furred rump back here!!" Serena yelled after Luna had wriggled and dropped from her hold, then hit the ground running. 

Beast viewed this scene pretty much the same way he had viewed the scene between his cynical self and the irony. Mounted on the horse though deprived him of any hard walls with which to bang his head into. Darn. Eh, well, he didn't want to do that anyway. So what if the girl yapped to cats. He talked to… well, no he didn't. But there was the…okay, maybe that didn't count. Fine, he gave up. It just wasn't worth it. 

Serena, unaware that her silent companion was having what I like to call "Issues", hmphed and crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. " That damn cat. Don't know why I bother." 

Silence. 

Tension, grinning like a maniac, skipped back into the room and shook his finger at both Serena and Beast with mock agitation. 

Beast coughed and cleared his throat. " So, about that ride…?" Did he sound hopeful? Or was it just him? Oh, he er, hoped not. The hopeful part, I mean. The first one, not the second one, which is the one that I said…Oh look, I've gone crossed eyed.

Tension giggled giddily and danced the jig. 

I don't like him. I really don't like him. Can I kill him now? Pwease? Oh, fine. I promise not to hurt the monkey boy. Much. Ugh. 

Serena found a crack in the floor quite entertaining in the fact that there should not be a crack in a muddy floor. What contemptible, insane person put it there anyways? Must have seriously been an idiot.

Or maybe they were bored and just wanted to see what way worked best for entertaining a fool… Hmm, maybe. 

But don't quote me on that. 

Serena looked up at the dark ceiling mutely, twiddling her thumbs, " I …well, guess I could, but I ..don't want to hurt the horse. I heard it was bad for their kidneys." She was trying to get away and she knew it. 

Beast put his hand out, grabbed her own hand and, ignoring her protests, hauled her up and plopped her behind him. She let out a startled squawk, but gripped him about the waist as the horse started moving. 

" Ahhhieee…stop the horse, I want to get off." She begged and tightened her hold on his waist. Beast grunted, and kicked the stallion into an easy prance. The movement rocked her forward, which caused her skirts to hike up to her mid-thighs. Any other lady might have been scandalized by the improper sight of another woman riding like a man, and behind a beast no less. The horror, the scandal, the totally juicy gossip material. What woman wouldn't kill for that… 

Glad I'm just a girl. 

Beast understood that a creature of Serena's size was intimidated by the sheer size of a horse, that and the fact that he hardly given her the chance to prepare herself for the disorienting leap, or tug and haul as it was, from the ground to the stallions back. But this cutting off of blood supply to his legs and… well, it was just ridiculous. 

He tapped the stallion's hides gently and the pace moved into a flowing trot. Her whimpers turned into a small squeak and she buried her face in his back. Her grip on him tightened again, surprising him with her strange strength. It wasn't necessary to have the horse trot, but if he didn't keep her hands around his waist somehow, she'd pull an object from out of nowhere –a heavy one- and hit her over the head with it repetitively. Well, hell, she might even bring out something bigger then a peashooter and take it to his hide. 

Not a cheerful thought. 

He couldn't feel his tail. 

Now her couldn't feel his feet.

Now his calves. 

Uh-oh. 

" It's all right Serena, you wont' fall, now can you please loosen your hold? I can't feel my lower body." Beast's words made it to her ears and she slowly complied, though her hold only loosened enough for him to regain feeling. It was still tight. He got a heady liking for it. 

And fingered it off for teenage male hormones that he had missed out on when he had been a teenager and they were now making themselves quite at home. Ah, liberation. 

Speaking of which, Serena thought he smelled yummy. Not that she thought of eating pine needles or earth or the like, he just smelt wonderful. 

Had to be the hormones. Pesky little things, really. Wicked, wicked, evil and thoroughly enjoyable little things. 

And, oh, the pure pandemonium I could cause using those wonderfully twisted hormones. I could see it all now. I feel so giddy, some one slap me. 

The trees passed quickly to Serena's gaze, and she closed her eyes, resting her cheek against the silk clothed fur of Beast's back with a slight blush. Had anyone ever told her she would have been doing this hours ago she would have beat the ever loving fool out of them with her peashooters and other such objects all the while crying up a typhoon. And drowned them. 

She hardly noticed when the trot shifted to a smooth rocking canter. The motion made her sleepy. Very sleepy….

" So am I forgiven Serena?" Beast ventured. 

"….uh huh." 

He blinked, and realized she was half asleep. With a slight smile, he reigned the horse to a halt and, before Serena slid from his back, used his amazing flexibility and turned halfway in the saddle, then pulled her into his lap and tapped his horse into a canter once more. 

Some what dazed, she opened her mouth to say something but he just shook his head, and told her to sleep. She smiled back at him, and nuzzled into his hold to snooze. 

" Thank you. For being so nice to me, … Trowa."  

With nary a word in reply, Beast guided his stallion back in the direction of the castle. Serena slept on, oblivious. Sleeping on an overly large animated teddy bear like man could do that you know. Now all he needed was a bow tie….

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

Ha, now this chapter was a lot better. ::Is proud:: See, I resurrected my brain. Coffee and electricity do wonders, really they do. Any suggestions for the next chapter? Huh? 

Advice for Chapter: Somedays it's just not worth chewing through the restraints. 

Here's what I said to meself yesterday, in case any of you are wondering. 

" Hello!/ Hi, how are you?/ Good, I'm Crazy, what's YOUR name?/Dazed and Confused, but you can call me Daze./ O-kay. What size strait jacket do you wear, small, medium, large or extra crazy? /Oh, I wear the extra crazy one, you?/ Same- But I still get out of it, Houdini is my hero./ Really, me too!/ Wow, how freaking cool is that?/ Sweet, wanna got to lunch with me and be my new friend?/ Sure, lets kick it!/ Kick what?/ Er…OH MY GOD!! LOOK AT THAT!/ What?/ THAT! / Huh?..AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! The acupunctured Barbie doll's coming after me! SAVE ME!!!!!!! IIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!:: scampers up a tree in the vain hope that the Barbie doll wearing….pink… can't get her.:: It's the.. Revenge of fricken Barbie, Man!! 

…Okay, I am very scared now. Very very, freaking scared." I suppose I can understand why they looked at me like I was wigging out or something, but did they have to point and whisper like they did? I tell you, Kids are the cruelest. ::Bawls:: I want my own Teddy Beast. 

Is okay, I know how you feel.

You do?

 Yup.

Awww, you so n--- all of you stop looking at me like that!!! WAHHHH.


	18. Chapter Nineteen

*Burning Roses. *

*A Beauty and The Beast story. *

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Pairings: It's beginning to look a lot like Serena and Beast…**

**Genre: Romance, Humor, and Drama. And action (I think).**

**Disclaimer: ::Wines and whimpers before signing a legal document that states she doesn't and never will own Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, or Beauty and the Beast.:: I feel so deprived….**

**          Summary : I have not begun to be crazy. Just to let you know. And, you can have your shmooshed Barbie back now. I really don't want her. It also takes a lot to scare me. It takes…pink. **

**I changed it. I remembered to do it the other day and viola! **

**:: Looks around for a moment then pulls a table from no where and sets it up. Places a sign in front of it that reads " Now signing Autographs. Free. Seriously." Whips out signature silver pen and waits.:: Hehehe. You know what's really funny? A girl in my class last year asked for my autograph so she could "sell it when I make it big and get a ton of money." O.O? **

**Er….I have felt like this all my little life. And I'm now in Japanese. I think I'm going to try and teach y'all what I learn so that way you can go around and feel smarter then everyone else. ^_^. It's great for confidence.**

**My best friend talks to books. They talk back. I swear I heard it one time. I have a sticker that says "Don't annoy the crazy one, for you may taste good with chocolate syrup." I have a few more too. They are fun. **

**:: Flails.:: BUT I AM CRAZY AND PROUD OF IT TOO!! Hi Heero. **

**The whole school system is screwed up. I don't know why, it just is. And frankly, I hate it. :: sobs:: I wanted home school. But my mom doesn't want to deal with me.  My teacher doesn't know what I can do yet. Oh, I can't wait to see what she does when she finds out. It's always so fun to watch their reactions.**

**I ride Australian. It's fun. I love to jump. So did my horse. He loved it so much, that he jumped even when we weren't moving. **

**Either that or it was the bath that scared her away. My dog does that. -_-'. I thought it was too, hehehe.**

**I write what I know and I know how to be crazy and funny and strange.  And when I learn more, I'll twist that and write it too.**

**Oww. Pudding not so soft when falling in it from tree. Pain….. Ohh, butterscotch. Yum-my.**

**I always get hyper. I'm on a perpetual high and as such people are very afraid of me. ::Sigh:: Stigmatized by my own being me-ness. **

**Welp, in this lovely little chapter, there is a game of chess somewhere in here somewhere. And Serena and Trowa have a fight… Another one? No….wait, it's not. And, our resident vampire  is running from death. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

_Chapter Nineteen. (Lets celebrate!) _

Ah me, What a long tale this is. I swear, I must learn not to draw all the details out. But, seeing as how they are important in one way or another, all except that mouse dying in that one chapter…no, wait he was important. Oh, my poor head. And the things I've seen! Good grief. 

Oh well, there's nothing for it. 

Things have a way of getting heavier the longer you hold them. Like babies. Or Serena. They may look light and nearly weightless, and they may be true for the first hour or so, or perhaps minutes. It all depends on your arm's strength. 

Either way, they get heavy. What I'm getting at is that Trowa, formally known as Beast, was having difficulty with holding the dead weight that was Serena. 

Which isn't to say that she weighed as much as cow, despite the fact that she ate like one. Maybe that she be changed to a rapid cow. Cows eat slow. Or maybe a cow hitched on Speed. My what a scary thought. _Mooooo. _

It was just saying that he was getting tired of lugging her around. His arms were anyways; he himself was not part of their little opinion and was happy as a clown. Interesting irony there. 

Good thing he was just a few feet away from her door. He was counting down to the point of where he was going to drop her. It was fitting that there should be a man holding onto a maidens hand as she hung over a very sharp and painful doom, suffice to say a cliff. Tapestries. Got to love them, now doncha? The castle had one twisted little sense of humor he'd admit that. He might have laughed. 

5…4…3… 

No time. The door opened and he shuffled into the blue room then settled her on the bed gently. She stirred, and started to wake up.  Ah, but it would be just his luck that she would wake up -now-, of all times.  Well, he was going to get out of there before she did wake up and remember what he had done. It wouldn't be very healthy to be around then. Who knows, he might just end up in little itsy bitsy pieces. 

Besides, he had a conniving little braid boy to find. What fun. That and He needed to ask Quatre for advice, find the cat for Serena, talk Wufei out of going to that shrink and terrorize the locals. They were getting nosey again. It was dreadfully annoying. 

And he needed to find that vampire and…dissuade him from going after Serena. 

Night was coming, afterall.

Speaking of vampires, our little blood sucking wanker of the undead, no offense to any respectable vamps out there, is, I'm glad to inform you, merely a pawn. In case you were thinking of someone else, which I know you were. 

You see, writing is like a game of chess. You have your two main characters, the king and queen, then you have your other important roles, and then comes the pawns. Much the same for the opposing sides. We writers weave a web using our characters and our plot. 

And in this tale,  Mr.  I vwant to svuck youre vlood is a pawn. A soon to be dispensed pawn. Oh, am I being to blunt and harsh? I could flower it. Like this, and any of particularly weak stomachs when it comes to sugary sweetness should at least skip ahead a few lines,: 

Oh what a cold cruel world we live in! That a sweet and upstanding citizen of the undead society should be extinguished in such a horrid way! But, I do know, that as I stand before you here  today, he will be free! He shall overcome! And woe be to any who dare oppose the flight of this pure soul! Oh, behold! The good citizen himself! Now, if you will, join me in a heart-warming song of We Shall Overcome!

Hmmmm Hmmmmm-hmmm-hmmmmm. Okay, we're going to stop that now. 

Where  was I? Ah, yes, that's right, chess…and vampires. My, my, what a twisted little world we live in no? And if I confuse you, please worry not, I confuse myself too. 

Anyways, our little pawn was doing his damndest to get the hell out of there! There being nothing no where in general just the particular direction he was running away from. He was very afraid. How very odd. He? And Fear? Together. 

But, it was. Needless to say he was trying to save his ass from the fryer, and had only really leapt into the fire. Or was going to. He was leaving quite the trail. 

Now, what do you suppose could be after him, I wonder. I also know what your thinking… It's Trowa right? Pardon me if I laugh right here. 

Hehehe. Ahem.

Fear is a very base, and primal emotion. Often reverting the one in terror to that of instinctual drives and depriving them of the cool mind to reason. He had lost his cool just  a little after sunset. And he had been running for a while now, he'd lost count of the hours. Days ? He didn't know, all he knew was that death was coming for him. 

And he liked living! He didn't want to die! 

Ah, put a sock in it, you ninny! Yeesh. 

He ran, leaving a trail a mile wide. It would take death no thought to follow it. None at all. The vampire's instinct told him to put distance between him and his death, to run fast and strait. That's what he did. 

If he had had a heart, he was certain that it would have burst. But, he didn't so small comfort there. Though a burst heart would have been a far better death then the one death had in store for him and he was very afraid of that death, especially coming from death. Get it? And, oh joy, I've gone crossed eyed again. 

Fabulous. 

Behind him, he heard the faint sound of breathing, his heightened senses aiding him in this. Little gibbering goblins of terror shimmied up his spinal cord and tried to dig homes in his panicky brain. It hurt. Fear hurt. He hated it. Hated the helpless feeling, and the knowledge that you were going to die. 

That must be how his victims had felt as he fed from them….

He wanted his mommy. Sniffle. 

Serena, of course, defied the laws of bend ability and twisted into several painful positions Trowa would never even dream of doing before she opened her eyes and blinked at him. 

He blinked back, and tried to hide his disturbed expression with a smug grin. 

"See, riding a horse wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Silence. Crickets chirped. 

Wait. Crickets? But they were in the tower rooms….

THWACK!! 

Trowa pulled the pillow from his face and rubbed his nose mutely. Serena glowered at him, wielding another pillow and pointed an accusing finger of doom at him. He eyed the finger in what can only be called a Wary estranged way. Capitalized. 

"I--mphff!" She tumbled back into her bed sheets with a squeal, Trowa's pillow having knocked her over. From beneath 

golden and pale blue sheets, two startled eyes just _stared_ at him.

_He_ just stood there and _stared_ at the pillow in his paws with silent awe. _Ohhhhhhhhh!_ He'd never done _that_ before! And why not? It was such fun! He thwaped her again, experimentally. Fun!

Annoyed, Serena retaliated in kind. And thus began what would later go down in history known as The Pillow War. Not very original I know, but hey! Who's perfect?

Definitely not. 

_End Chapter. _

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

**I am sorry about the long delay and for cutting the chapter off here, but I am having problems with my damn keyboard right now and have to get another one…or take this one apart and kill it slowly. Which **

**Now, if you don't mind, I have a computer to mutilate. :: Walks away singing, "Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream, throw your teacher over board and listen to her scream…Six months later… teacher, teacher, coming down the Delaware, chewing on her under ware…French fried eyeballs.." with a base ball bat, metal and barbwire of course, and keyboard in hand. :: Thank you all for putting up with me.  ^_^**


	19. Chapter Twenty

***Burning Roses.*******

***A Beauty and the Beast Tale. *******

*** Rating: Pg-13. * ******

***Couples: Er..gee, I wonder…Maybe its Serena and Trowa?* ******

**Disclaimer: :: Pulls a Lina and hides under a giant pyramid, wailing at all mummies to get the hell out of her hiding place.::**

**Summary: Har har, I pilfered my old man's laptop. It's keyboard is the bomb! YAY. So, now that I've made off like a bandit –not the kind with gold, mind you- I am pleased to inform you, you get another chapter. How long do you guys want this fic to be anyways? Just a wonder-ing******

**Well, I made it up that way, with help from the voices in me little head. I dunno, It's been so looong. ******

**::Glomps laptop.:: Yes fate is cruel. CRUEL I say! Its never happy unless its nibbling on your ass, if you'll pardon my lang' here. Evil, Evil, EVIL. Grrr. :: Waves the bird at the bad baddy bad bad comp keyboard then coos to the nicey nice laptop keyboard.:: Horse plushie? SQUEEEE! :: gibbers happily trying to feed carrots to horsie.::******

**:: Evil smile. Then holds up the twisted remains of her other keyboard.:: PMS is a fine tool of destruction. ******

**Nooooooo. It's not Quatre…. You'll have to guess. Ah, I have an idea. Whoever guesses correctly, will get a special chapter request and I'll make it into an alternate ending or something. K? ******

**:: Shuffles feet, while scraping back remaining microchips and frazzled wires out of view.:: Or course I was gentle. The first three stabbings… Er…I think the creator may be suffering from mutual pains right now…. I love making people luagh. And if guys brag about gettind K.O.'d by pillows…all I have to say is…THEY ARE SAD LITTLE WHIMPY DUDES. Ahem, no offense intended. **

**:: Looks up at Squirrel and winks. Then places a sign on the table reading, " Back in Five minutes. If ya need me…Reconsider." Disappears into back room. Several minutes later….. "OH MI GOD!!!!!" One pink pacifist protester screams. Followed by other shouts of terror.  Soon enough, a small stampede of pinky protesters are running away from Silver's house, holding their heads and looking for safety. SilverQuick reappears looking smug and positively evil with a cheeky grin.:: The voices in my head make quite the dissuading force. Especially with their secrets weapons….. Harharhar. :: a few protesters can be seen slamming their heads into walls, trying to get the pink poky-dotted grenade toting sumo wrestlers from their head, who just so happens to sound like Relena and Darien wailing like harpees:: ******

**That'll do, me voices, that'll do. Oh, I feel so bad…And it feels so good. Lousy pink pricks…grrr. No offense. BUT THEY TRAMPLED MY GRASS!! AHHHH!! ******

****

**So. Where were we? Ah yes, our little blood tick was fleeing like a headless chicken from who knows what and Serena and Trowa were having a pillow fight. Ahhh, but, what happens now? And, the universal Question. No not, boxers or briefs. But, Is Trowa gay?******

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~******

_Chapter Twenty.___

__

There is something to be said about a good ol' pillow fight late at night, hmm that rhymes, and that something is…. 

" Damn, I am pooped." Serena sighed, slumping into her pillows with the air of a battle hardened soldier after a good long tussle. 

Beast blinked at her, " I didn't want to know that…." 

"Shuddup, you furball." 

"My, how you wound me." He quipped and sprawled in the chair in such a way that one had to count how may limbs he had just to make sure there weren't more then there should be. There wasn't.

" Hah, quite, my weapon of choice is words. And they seem to work so well." Serena stared at him and lifted an eyebrow. The perfect picture of cynicism. " And I though I was bad. I at least try to make an effort at civility. And look at you. Sitting like that. Doesn't it hurt? It looks like it hurts." 

While she had been blabbing, Trowa had curled up in the chair at was looking quite content as a cat that just had a saucer of buttermilk cream. No longer was he sprawled hilly nilly and all over, but curled in such a way, she was sure she'd never be able to do. And she was pretty damn flexible. So that was saying something.

" Well, you've got your painful looking positions and I've got mine." He retorted, examining his claws carefully and occasionally picking something away from the sharp lacerating points. Serena found it rather disconcerting. 

She made a sound at the back of her throat and shifted so that she was halfway hanging over the bed upside down. She favored this position the most. Why? Haven't got a blazing clue, it just felt nice to her back. Popping all the joints and such.

He winced at how far her back was bending. Almost to a ninety-degree angle, not that he knew what that was. But of course, for her this was nothing. 

They eyed each other a moment, solemnly.  

Silence had slunk into the room carefully avoiding any mice that happened to be about and froze when she noticed the other occupants. Ooops. Wrong turn at the sleeping dragon tapestry. Damn things. Very annoying. She took one look at the beast in the chair then the maiden on the bed getting a blood rush and turned on her heel, flying back out of the room . 

Serena grinned at him, though in her position it seemed more of a frown. Trowa was immediately wary. 

" I've got a question," she announced loudly. (Out in the hall Silence winced and went faster.) " Trowa, are you…Gay?" 

…From his newly established position on the floor, which was not very bad comfort wise, Trowa made a sound somewhere between a choke and a growl. 

Serena, unable to defy the laws that stated that at times like these it would be appropriate to blink, did just that. She blinked. Once, then twice for good measure. 

" If you are…I understand, I mean, I have nothing against that kind of thing."

He made that strangled sound again and sat up, to peer at her. 

" Give me a few weeks to decide on whether or not I should feel complimented or insulted… Why would you think I'm gay?" 

She twiddled her thumbs and repositioned her eyes above her, which meant she was now looking at the plush blue rug in her room. 

" Er…I don't know really, I just thought.. well, you know.." her small voice petered off uncertainly. " It's just the way you act I suppose."

He huffed, " I have been alone with only the fairies and the servants and that bloody vampire for 500 years, how do you expect me to act?"

" I'd bet you'd have been very lonely. But you don't really act too much like you enjoy our company."

 By the 'our', he was willing to wager she meant hers and Relena's.

" And we're female so…and you are so understanding of me, no man I know would be able to accomplish that and not come off as queer." 

Somewhere deep inside him, a small little voice seemed to trill with joy that she'd put him in the same circle as a man. _Yeah, go me!_ He thought, gleefully. 

She looked back at him then her blue eyes darted away again, before they could meet his forest green eyes, or eye as the case was. 

" I'm not, nor will I ever, swing that way. I just don't feel that that's right." 

In that moment, a load of great weight seemed to have lifted from Serena's shoulders and she smiled widely. Had her smile gotten any larger, he was certain she'd either break or dislocate her jaw. 

" Well, then I guess Quatre's going to have to look for love somewhere else then hmmm?" 

This time, Trowa made not a sound from where he had face faulted strait into the carpet. He merely noted that said carpet was beginning to look a tad frazzled. 

" You are sick." He muttered, more to himself than to her. She heard him any way. 

" Ahhh, but you love me anyway." 

_You have no idea, _He thought to himself bemusedly. And just watched her as she laughed at his expense. Not that he minded. He enjoyed making her laugh. She seemed an entirely different person when she did that. 

So instead of speaking, he just smiled a little and listened to her. Lovely.

Run. Run. Run. RUN!! After a while, just running like a mindless twit really got monotonous as well as annoying. Very annoying. He hated this. Fear was still there, pounding through his veins with the dead blood and something that may have at one point been called adrenaline, but was now little more then something like acid, but not so mind numbing as before. 

No. No, now he was just angry. That bastard chasing him was toying with his mind. It was positively disgraceful to one of his stature and breeding.

It was humiliating. 

He HATED it. 

HATED, HATED, HATED it. He was so glad that his charming friend Beast's castle was only so much further. There he'd be safe. 

A long time ago, the poor sap had invited him in and once you invite a vampire to enter you home, your life, you can never go back on it. 

Thank goodness for that little detail.

 Just a little more. And then he would be safe. Till morning at least. Then… then maybe he would die. 

Death followed, drifting through the dark as though he was a part of it. Shadow to shadow, darkness to darkness easy as a sigh through the parted lips of a maiden letting go the last thread of her eternal soul. Swift, with an unearthly, unnatural grace more common to a wraith-like panther perhaps then any other creature. He followed the path his undead prey had made almost instinctually. Almost paying attention to it but not quite. 

The night creatures of the forest paused in their activity and silently watched as Death drifted past them, unaware of how close they were to dying themselves. Though they could feel the air of danger this other worldly creature wore as a cloak they knew it was not directed at them. They went back to their business as soon as death had passed over them, already forgetting him.

Which sure as hell wasn't to say the vampire had forgot.  That would be like saying he forgot to breathe. Wouldn't happen. Actually, yes, it would. He was after all a vamp. Vamps didn't need to breathe necessarily so..yeah, moot point there. 

Anyways. He was in the castle. Soon enough Beast would come and investigate the tweaks the magic had ..uh…tweaked out..er… well, he'd come to check out the disturbance. Curiosity and revenge and all that, so, now he was just waiting for the inevitable snarl and poisoned verbal dart to the neck followed by the usual "Go to hell and screw a pig." remark. 

And waiting.

Any minute now. Yup. He would come, talons clicking on the stone beneath the carpet, pissed as hell and ready to kill. 

It was rather late at night. 

Hmmm. Where was the flaming bastard now anyway? 

With this last impatient thought in his head, the nameless vampire's world went black. Literally.

 His body was dust before he hit the ground, and then said dust was blown away by a wind that wasn't there. 

Death pulled back the wooden stake and placed it back in the folds of his cloak then looked about the halls of the castle a moment. 

By way of reason, he figured he ought to stick around, to see if perhaps there were more vampires hanging about. 

After all, what else were gothic castles good for?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

And there you have it. Finally. Another chapter. Har, I succeeded. I hope you enjoyed. And, do you know what I had to do to get this chapter up? Well, turns out my laptop wasn't powerful enough to upload the chapter, so I had to email the file to myself and cut and paste it to word document and here ya go. Does that make sense? I hope so. ::falls over and passes out from major headache and exhaustion.:: X_#.


	20. Chapter TwentyOne

*** Burning Roses. * **

**A Beauty and the Beast story. **

**Rating: R.**

**Pairings: ::Snorts:: Do I really have to say it? I mean, is it not obvious? Eh, yeah. But, if you have to have it in writing, fine with me. Whatever floats the merry little boat, which hopefully wont sink. My Dad has that problem. Er, right. Trowa/Serena. **

**Disclaimer: ::pulls a Lina and hides under a pyramid while wailing at all the mummies to get the f*** out of her hiding place. Yeah, you too King Tut. Jerk. ::**

**Summary: :: rocks back and forth on her heels.:: To be truthfully honest, I haven't got a blazing clue where this story will end.  Well, the fic amuses me too as well as the voices in my head. Well all sit on my bed and start brainstorming about what to write and all that. Which is most likely the reason points of the story are written differently then others. My style tends to get drunk once in a while and weave around a bit. And guess what, Sarah, my clever friend. You a very correct in the assumption of Heero being the hunter. You know what that means. One request chapter for you. Anything, well within reason of course. **

**Anything funny in life is worth it. I believe, anyways. And if you ask me, I think he goes commando style. I mean, well, how else does he get that freedom of movement with out getting one hell of a weggie. :: tries in vain to die from embarrassment.::  I.. Uh. Like chocolate. Yup. Coffee's good too. Uh huh.**

**I know, I need to update more. I hate my keyboard. Er, hated. I got a new one. Memorex. Spill proof, PMS proof. You name it. ::thumbs up.::**

**Ah, yes, you would be surprised at how many different ways they can bend. And then you'd be surprised at many ways they can't :: coughs, and clears throat.:: Never heard them splat though. Interesting. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Twenty-one._

Serena picked a bit of feather down from her hair and blew another bit from her lips in exasperation. Feathers. God, who invented _those_ things anyways? They were wonderful if you happened to be a bird or something. But, the last time she had checked she had been human. She was certain that she was still human. 

 Hell, unless something of a serious sort came along and switched species without my notice, I am willing to bet a flea that she is still human. And a girl at that. 

Beast was look rather smug with himself, and remarkably feather free, despite the obvious fact that, what with pillow down floating every where from one pillow that had had the misfortune of being gutted, his fur would have been quite the magnet. Well, magic was handy that way, he supposed. That and getting feathers from his fur was bloody annoying. Hence he made sure they did not have the slightest chance to get to him. 

Serena hated him for that. Why couldn't she have any magical ability? Hmmph. Life sucked. 

But I don't want to know what she meant by that, so we'll get on with it. 

Besides that, what girl wouldn't kill for a fur coat like _that _? Huh? Oh, come on be honest, you know you'd like one. I wouldn't personally, I'm all for the humanitarian and animal support groups. Just think of all the traumatized little fur balls hiding somewhere, whimpering and scared, with a painful death hanging over their soon to be skinned hides. I think it's rather sad and horrible. I love animals. Oh wait, I just got off the subject didn't I? Ooops. Er…anyways. 

Without being noticed, Trowa decided to slip from the room quietly, before that she-devil got any ideas consisting of him and some bad things. Some very, very bad things. Things so bad, he wasn't even going to think of them. 

Oh, poo, I know what your thinking. I'm just stalling because I don't know very many bad things to do to him. That is where you are wrong. I can come up with some extraordinarily bad things I can have Serena do to him. But I like to think that I am nice. And don't laugh like that and roll your eyes. It's rude. 

As it was, just as he had cleared from the vicinity of her room, he felt something odd twinge along the webs of magic that were weaved about the castle as a spider's web might appear. A very big one. He faltered, and froze where he stood, casting out his consciousness along the threads trying to seek out the disturbance. It was very disconcerting, the feeling he had felt a moment ago. And try as he might, he couldn't tell himself that it was nothing and the sense of foreboding dancing a tango at the back of his mind was nothing as well.

For a moment, he looked back at the door leading to Serena who had no doubt found him gone by now and felt a slight twinge of worry. How very strange, he mused, continuing on his way.

Well, he was gone, the wanker. And before she could execute her marvelous plan even. How not fair. 

"This rags," muttered she, crossing her arms behind her head and leaning back into the softness of her pillows. " Eh well. Doesn't really matter." The ceiling was nice. What with the night sky as a mural. Very pretty. 

But she was bored near to tears at the moment and staring up at a never changing mural did nothing for her, so she sat up again and looked around for something she could do. The book case caught her eye and she thought a good read would take her mind away from things. 

Lately, so much had shifted about the castle that she was at loss as to where things were and where they were going. It was strange. She'd only been here for about a week, and already things had changed drastically. Probably why she was so confused lately. 

Sitting back down with a small book she'd never seen before, Serena figured it had something to do with Beast and herself. She was certain there was something growing between them, a bond or a connection, call it what you will. What she didn't know was what 'it' was. 

Perhaps it was some form of affection, she reflected, her eyes scanning over the words in the book, though she really didn't see them. Love? 

Now that made her stop and pale. " Oh, bloody hell." She muttered and smacked her forehead. " Stop jumping to conclusions you idiot."   

Still, she knew that it some way, she was indirectly correct. However strange that was. The problem was how Trowa felt. 

She was so damn afraid of rejection. 

It was quiet. And not that calm, good quiet, mind you. It was more of the heavy, ominous something-bad-will-happen quiet that truly set Trowa's fur on end.

Usually, the catsle was breathing with life, Duo was screaming and taunting a pissed off Wufei, and He was sitting up in his room, trying his damndest to ignore all the noise. 

Now. It was quiet. Too quiet. 

He didn't like the look of this. He didn't like it at all. 

By any means, the castle was not a normal castle. No, it reeked of magic and .. something he couldn't quite put a name to. It was something he'd never encountered before. He knew already that there were fairies about. Three if he was correct. Which there was no doubt that he was. And a human. But the other thing, he was puzzled by that. He did not like being puzzled. 

At least he was certain there were no more vampires, despite what he had thought earlier. But, curiosity had a hold on him and he was finding himself being so human as to want to know what that other thing was. 

How very odd. He'd never felt such a thing as that before. Well, yes, he had, but she was gone. There was nothing left holding him to the world of touchy feely. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Oh, Jeeze I am so sorry about the short chapter, but, I know this is going to really sound lame, I was gone for five days at a family reunion, ( Who could have predicted that one, eh?) and I had no access to anything with a hard drive in it. Wait, do phones have hard drives, not that I was able to use one of those either. -_-. Please forgive me!? 

Anyways. 

Japanese Tips: When saying desu, the u is silent, thus desu is pronounced des. Also, musume is daughter, no mesume as some will have it. In Japanese the I sounds like a drawn out e. So, Iie, would come out as eeyay. Strange no? 

Jokes: Sorry, can't think of one at the moment. 

Advise: It's a small world. And then the airline looses your luggage. Either that or you grab the wrong, but identical bags and someone else grabs yours…. Think of the chaos. So, I would advise you to transform your luggage into unique pieces of art. Use fabric paints or whatever else. And if they're white of any other light color, grape juice is the thing. 


	21. Chapter Twentytwo

*** Burning Roses. * **

**A Beauty and the Beast story. **

**Rating: R.**

**Pairings: ::Snorts:: Do I really have to say it? I mean, is it not obvious? Eh, yeah. But, if you have to have it in writing, fine with me. Whatever floats the merry little boat, which hopefully wont sink. My Dad has that problem. Er, right. Trowa/Serena. **

**Disclaimer: ::pulls a Lina and hides under a pyramid while wailing at all the mummies to get the f*** out of her hiding place. Yeah, you too King Tut. Jerk. ::**

**Summary: :: Twiddles thumbs.:: Well, I happen to have a few extra peashooters in stock. They're in the back room if you want one or two.**

**I've heard that beavers are kinda chewy, and that they have a sort of musky taste, but hey, who knows. People eat snails and call it fine dining. **

**I know that the last chapter was way too short, but it's kinda hard now to keep up the humor and still write a meaningful chapter. I have to think it all over, fix and re-fix it, instead of winging it like I had done earlier in the fic. So, I will have to plea that you have shnit load of patience for me, K?**

**By the way, seeing as how Sarah was so very clever as to figure out who the shadow death man thingy was, this chapter is dedicated to her. Sank-you. (Also, it gave me the idea for the whole chapter and it otherwise would have sucked bad without the short snippet of inspiration. Heh. Schools wiping me out….)**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Twenty-two. _

Duo was confused. And ticked off. Not that this was a rare occurrence, but at the moment it was quite the pissed off confusion. You see, Quatre had just pointed out something very important to his diabolical plan. A flaw, if you will. And the reason Duo was confused was because….

" But…But…But…"

 He just did not get what Quatre was saying! But, but, but what? As far as Duo was concerned his plan was the most perfect thing ever concocted on the back burners of his mind. Even though he didn't know what back burners were.

" BUT WHAT?!" Duo belted out, quite annoyed. 

Quatre jumped, " You can't toy with human emotions Duo!" 

This paused Duo in his tracks and he pouted, looking muck like the petulant child. 

" Last time I checked, Trowa wasn't exactly human." He cursed again under his breath; so much for his beautiful plans. Wait….

Quatre was very nervous. Nervous because of the way Duo was looking at him. Much like a hungry alligator would look a dumb zebra foal getting a drink. It was a very predatory look. 

He gulped. 

Duo grinned, baring tiny little needle sharp fangs that served no real purpose other then to itimidate the hell outa Quatre which was working quite well at the moment and lifted a finger to point at the blonde fairy.

 " Ah hah!" 

Once again, Quatre jumped. And sweat dropped, as confusion set in like a gray fog, clouding his bright blue eyes. 

Duo jumped up and down, crowing and hooting like a maniacal villain that had just won a war .

 " I knew it! I knew it!" At about this time, it would be sufficient to say that Quatre was panicking. He looked left and right, seeking a route of escape, preferably speedy and when he found none, he turned to face Duo who was still caterwauling at the top of his lungs. 

He began to feel a headache coming on. And that curdling feeling in his stomach couldn't have been a good omen either.

Finally, irritated by Duo's shout's and antics, Quatre snapped out a, " What!?" It worked well enough.

Duo rant froze in his throat, half born as he fell over and choked on it. 

" Cough, cough, gasp, wheeze yikes." 

Quatre breathed an involuntary sigh of relief then swallowed it when Duo started cackling, his face still resting in the carpeting of the castle's dining room floor. Ohhhhh. Not good. 

Thus deciding the only way to get out this was to whine like there was no manyana, Quatre did just that. "Why are you laughing at me???" Oh, but he sounded pitiful. 

Duo's answer came in the form of a sweat drop. "God, you're a fruit."

Talking to oneself was a fine way to amuse oneself as well as pass the time. Reading aloud was also a wonderful way to check your form. Singing was handy dandy and fine as candy as well. As was reciting poems from memory. 

All of which Serena had tried, and abandoned, in her boredom. Not that it had been so long. Minutes actually, maybe an hour. But, let it be known that she was never a patient person, and insomnia was taking its toll on her sanity. Whatever that word meant.

She was currently arranged in such a way on the bed that her feet were resting on the head board as she slanted towards the side of the bed where her pale gold head was hanging off just slightly. 

Hmmph. Not fun. Not fun at all. And to think, a big, creepy, gothic but otherwise perfectly romantic castle was supposed to have more going on in it. Big going on's. Like vampires…no, wait, they had those already. 

Speaking of which, where was the blazing, blood-mooching bugger anyways? 

Had said vampire been alive, or undead as it were, he would have sneezed. But he wasn't so that was a moot point. So anyways…

He hadn't come after her yet. 

Weird. 

Hence she called out in the typical Ima-weak-little-girl-and-a-stupid-one-with-eat-my-blood written on her forehead way. " Yuuu-whoooo! Fresh blood, right here, come and get it while it's hot, and…er, fresh…? Yeah, you know you want it!" She frowned, listening carefully for any screaming mice, as was the sound that she associated with the vamp. 

There was nothing. Not even crickets. 

" Heh, go figure."

Deciding that since she had nothing better to do at the moment, she might as well ghost about the castle to try and find Trowa as well as do a little snooping. All right, so she just liked being in his company. Was that a crime? Huh. Was it ? could she not enjoy the comforts of a male companion with out being judged? 

Now, she was over reacting.

She slipped out into the hall, and fiddled with the golden strands of hair that had escaped her braid in a movement akin to nervousness. 

Not that she was nervous mind you, just that, well it was dark and dreary in the halls at night. Night was very scary, Serena knew. For her night had been forever ruined for her by the men that had killed her mother. Men her father knew…..

Now, reader, I realize you are chewing your fingernails, toenails or what ever and cursing me for dragging this out further then what you feel is necessary. Well, that's _not_ true. I'm doing it for tha drama. You don't get very far saying _everything_ up front. No. So this is my way of keeping you around. Works like the charm. 

It was very dark in the halls aside from the occasional lamp that threw the shadows back to the …shadows. Right. Well, they lit small fractions of the hall but not all of it. Which really rankled Serena, as she _hated_ the darkness, but she loved the stars. Well, that was immaterial. 

Anyways. 

She found herself speeding through the darkness to the light and then snailing through the light.  Very tiring if you've ever done this before _believe_ me, I know all about it. Though, I tend to do the opposite. I like the dark. 

But, you probably care not a friggen whit for that so I'll get on with this. 

Panting, Serena slowed in her sprint-skid-stop and go running to lean against the wall and shake her fist in the general direction of the shadows. Which was pretty much in both directions despite the fact that this was defying all laws of the physical nature. 

Hey, what can I say? This is a fictitious tale after all. Pretend it's real though. 

Anyways. 

She was doing quite alright, leaning against the wall as she was, when from out of the darkness a spooky figure appeared sliding toward. 

How spooky was he? 

Spooooooooooooooky!

Serena did what any normal girl would do in her situation when a scary but otherwise reasonably hot guy comes out of the shadows at you. She screamed. Ran out of air. Took a deep breath then screamed again.  Deep breath, repeat. 

At his own side of the castle Trowa looked up from his inspection of a dust pile with a startled curse of toe curling, sailor shaming, parent mortifying, ear burning caliber. 

Ooooooooooh. I've never heard _that _word before. I think I'll look it up. Hmmmmhmhmhhhmmmm…. Oh my….goddess. That's bad. Very, very, very bad. 

Ahem, anyways, aside from that, Trowa stood up from his crouch and took off in the general direction of the screams, vowing to the moon above that he was going to either stuff a gag in that girls mouth or kick whoever's arse that was making her scream from here to kingdom Come. 

Or, maybe, kiss her silent. That would be so much better. 

_End Chapter. _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

And there you go. Another less than great, but still good chapter. Im sorry for not being on the dot with this, and shirking my duties to you all as my readers but, I am writing a few new stories and I think y'all will like them when they come out. Anyways. 

Joke for chapter: Crazy? I was crazy once. They put me in a little round room and told me to piss in a corner. That really bugged me. Bugs? I hate bugs. They drive me Crazy. Crazy? I was crazy once. They put me in a little round room and told me to piss in a corner. That really bugged me. Bugs? I hate bugs. They drive me Crazy. Crazy? I was crazy once. They put me in a little round room and told me to piss in a corner. That really bugged me. Bugs? I hate bugs. They drive me Crazy…….

Advice: Do not smoke. The cigarette does the smoking. You're just the sucker. 


	22. Chapter Twentythree wahooooooo! ::ahem::...

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points.**

**Pairings: Oh, lovely, we've got ourselves a triangle. Noooo, wait, it's better then that. It's a freaking rectangle!**

**Disclaimer: ::Screams at the lawyers rude words then flips them the bird.:: God, I hate those guys. I still don't own anything…..dernit. And I had the legal documents to prove I owned it too. Wonder what happened to them. :: We see a fire burning somewhere with an idiot pouring all of Silver's portfolio into it. The portfolio holds everything of relative value to Silver. Said person remains clueless. Psychic abilities will kick in soon enough. Then there will be hell for afore mentioned idiot.:: **

**Summary: Well, I figured out a way to cheat and get this chapter up. That is if this works. If you're reading this, then yup, it worked. Yay! PARTY. Which can be said paatii, in Japanese. Which also sounds like potty, but then again, that may be a matter of opinion. But I think you'll agree with me.**

**Righty. So, anyone ready for your whenever dose of insanity? Yes, no, maybe, kinda, get the hell outa my face, Hai?**

**Come on. Give me a "HELL YEAH!!"**

**See, I'm here to liven up the average drab, boring as heaven day and give y'all a good laugh. Also, because it provides me with something to do when I am locked in my padded room hugging my self. I've learned to use my toes to type. Kudos to me, eh?**

**Oh, I'm most definitely insane. I'm also known as Psychopath to my friends. But, it's all good. Wouldn't have it any other way. **

**Don't we all just love my sense of humor, loopy as it is. It's fun, makes life worth living. Not to mention it gets me great friends. Look at all you guys. :: Sniffle:: It's just so wonderful. **

**:: Silver runs into the room, and slams the door on the sparkles.:: Er, hehe, that would be off limits. :: Clears throat. Then points to the exit.:: I'll tell you about it later. Much later. **

**Heh, yeah, why DOES a 24 hour store have locks? And who is she? She who? Why her, what was so great about selling shells by the seashore any way? Oh…. Goody, now that you've gotten me started on that…again, I'll have to get myself a freaking checkup from the neck up. Next thing ya know, I'm running around, starving myself and trying to find any info on –her- and spouting absolute nonsense –not that I don't do that all ready- but, seriously. My mom's gonna think I'm on drugs and she's going to want me to get tested. You know what that means, right? :: Sees stars and faints. Has nightmares ::**

**Lesse, Duo and           Quatre get it in their heads to do a little scheming match-making. To do this they need just the right amount of lust, love and the final ingredient …Jealousy. Boil, boil, toil and trouble… Why on earth am I talking about witches? Good Lord. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Twenty-two. _

So. Apparently it was possible for her to walk through the halls of this ancient castle and meet another human. That is if he was a human. He sure didn't act, or look much like he was human, aside from the usual two arms –which she couldn't really see-, and two legs. Hopefully. Maybe he was just floating there.

Wide eyed, Serena tip toed forward, and bent to peer under the cloak to see if he had legs. 

Relieved to find that yes, in fact, there were two nicely muscled legs clad in leather, tight leather, and a pair of tanned leather boots she stood up and swallowed her drool. 

She looked back at the guy, who had lifted a dark brow at her little escapade. Nice eyes, she thought distantly. Yummy. 

Clearing her throat with sudden meekness, she brushed at her blouse self- consciously, and tried to slap on a smile. 

Her efforts wilted under his glacial gaze. 

"Ahem. Right, and you are?" She tried. And immediately started laughing. Nervously. " Oh! That's right. I should introduce myself. I am Serena Rose blah blah blah… I have no last name. As far as I know my father disowned me. Now. Who are you, if I may demand? And please don't think me rude. I'm not, not really. And does Beast, Trowa…the master of this castle know you're here? Why didn't he tell me? Oh! I'm babbling now aren't I? Damn- I mean…oops. Oh god…"

She clapped a hand over her mouth and blinked at him.

The stranger looked her over closely, "You are not a vampire." It was a statement, not a question. 

Naetheless, Serena balked and shook her head vehemently. 

"Nomnot." She blurted through her fingers. Then dropped her hand deciding it was futile to try and shut herself up seeing as how it wasn't going to happen. 

He just nodded imperceptivity, his eyes raking over her once more. Before he turned and walked into the shadows, then stopped and looked at her over his shoulders as though to say, "Well, get your ass in gear and follow me, you twit." Without actually saying in. 

Needless to say, Serena got all huffy over the silent insult to her person and stomped after him with the intent to yell and scream some manners into him via his ears. That method was as good as kicking his ass from here to The Himalayas. 

Or kicking his ass up between his shoulder blades. Jerk. A lovely, pretty guy, jerk but a jerk all the same. 

Jesus, what she got stuck with….

Jesus, what he got stuck with, Trowa thought on his 'merry' little way back to Serena's room. What the hell was going on around here anyways? 

First of all, ever since Serena and Relena, where ever the heck she was, came along things about the castle had all gone to hell in a hand basket, complete with a freaking pink bow. A giant one.

Damn the color pink.

It was cursed. He was certain of it.

Somewhere, wherever the hell 'somewhere was, Duo was watching all that went on in the castle through your typical magic mirror. It was standard for any peeper, not that particular peeper, you gutter minded reader. He was rather proud that he belonged to a very exclusive club of spies. Well, actually, he had been a part of those years ago. Years and YEARS ago. The others were probably all worm fodder now. 

Yummy.

Over his shoulder, Quatre watched what transpired as well with wide eyed …something. Duo wasn't quite certain what that something was. But he did have another idea.

"Hey," Duo whispered over his shoulder to the blonde, " You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Quatre scuttled back a bit to eye Duo with something very much akin to stark horror.

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then I think you should think again." Quatre replied as steadily as he could under the circumstances.

Those being the two glittering violet eyes currently boring into his own blue orbs. Very scary.

They were going to give him nightmares. 

Really, really bad ones. With pink rats.

Clearing his throat, Quatre reached out and casually pushed the eager Duo over backward. Duo squeaked.

"Quit looking at me like that," He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in a way that clearly said he was pissed off. 

Duo lay there stunned. He stared up at the ceiling then slowly started to chuckle. His chuckles quickly escalated into riotous laughter that made big fat tears leak out the corners of his eyes.

Then, as quickly as it came, the laughter fled, leaving Duo gasping. 

"Hot dog," he hooted.

Quatre blinked. "What's a hot dog?"

Silence. Blink, " I do not know."

She was going to kill him. She was going to kill him very slowly, and very painfully. No, wait, she was going to torture him to the point of death, nurse him back to health and then she was going to skin him alive. And then she was going to kill him. She was going to kill…

Before her, the dark, spooooooky, figure paused and looked back at her as though sensing her equally dark thoughts. 

Seeing this, Serena immediately began whistling a cheerful little ditty while averting her eyes to the ceiling, the floor, the tapestries on the wall (which depicted a blushing maiden in the arms of a dark knight. Serena's eyebrows shot into her hairline at this.)

Anything to maintain her façade. All in the name of innocence. 

The man grunted, then continued on. On to where was what she wanted to know. 

She was probably questioning his intentions, the dark figure mused to himself. As she should be. It would be highly moronic to just follow a complete stranger, especially one such as he. 

However, he felt he knew who this girl was. He wished to confirm his theory. The only way to do that though…was to test her memory…. What was left of it, that is. 

" All right, Duo, I give up. What are you planning?" At least that's what Quatre had tried to say. It wasn't working to well because of the gag he was currently trying not to swallow. 

As for the rest of him…well, he was tied and bound to the leg of a chair. How he had gotten there was a mystery to him. One he didn't feel like getting a headache over.

Before him, Duo was pacing back and forth, rubbing his hands in the glee typical of an evil villain scheming up his next big plan. 

Boil, boil toil and trouble, Quatre thought sourly. Were they all in for hell. 

Letting loose a cackle that could shame a witch to perfect skin, if you get that kudos to you, Duo bounced over to stand in front of a very much freaked out blonde and grinned in a way that would most assuredly haunt the poor little fairy to his dying days (which were getting shorter and shorter). 

"Here's what we're going to do…"  

The one sided conniving match makers r 'us duo plotted away, merrily. Well, more or less, one was tickled to death about his evil, but perfectly brilliant plan, the other one was just plain scared to death. He was too young for this!! Hell, he was getting gray hair. Dammit.

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

And there you go. A short, but packed chapter. Get ready for another plot twist my dearies, for I feel one coming on. 

Har har har. 

I have no joke or tips for Japanese. However, I do have advice.

If your computer no longer answers to your threats of, "Do this or I will fling an enormous rock at you," Then I think it's time to throw it out a convenient window and go buy a new one.  


	23. Twenty Four

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points.**

**Pairings: Oh, lovely, we've got ourselves a triangle. Noooo, wait, it's better then that. It's a freaking rectangle!**

**Disclaimer: There is no disclaimer. Isn't that just mind boggling? :: we see the Idiot go flying through the air, a giant ball of fire chasing after him. Silver's handiwork no doubt.:: But, I don't own anything. So don't sue unless you want two pieces of lint and a monkey. **

**Summary: Oh lordie. I'm so sorry fro traumatizing you. I never meant to. But if it is any consolation, I've suffered the same. In fact, yesterday, my friend called and I was so hysterical that I told her "pink attacked me and it was wearing Barbie." When I meant it the other way around. **

**Sank yoo. Which is Thank You in Japanese, strange as it sounds. My mum worries about me. She told me so. But she doesn't think I'm on drugs yet. Heh. But yeah, it's all good. I try not to swear around my parental units. **

**I know exactly what you mean girl. It sucks monkey butt, doesn't it? Then again, I think there is another saying of it kicks monkey balls. Which ones better or worse? I'm confused. Anywhoo, Duo is getting rather spooky ain't he? But just you wait. Quarter has a few aces up his shorts. Or was that sleeves? Erm, yup. Righty-o then. Get well in the head. And then have a hay day with the story. I've found that if you twist it about a bit, it gets rather hilarious, more so than it is now. **

**Stay out my closet. It's my private place. But if you must know, it's the portal to :: drum roll:: nowhere. Welcome to my head. Empty. J/k. You'll find out someday. **

**Not much goes on in this installment of Burning Roses. All it is, is another plot twist revving up, and ready to bog your mind. No mention of fairies in this, but that because they are up to something. Trowa is too. But you'll just have to wait for the next chapter to find out.  **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Twenty-two. _

"If you think that I'm going to follow you to…God knows where, mister spandex, whatever that is, then you have another thing coming buddy. I will not….whoa Nellie, what the hell was that?"

Serena eeeped and took cover from the flying dart like blur that nearly took off her head.

She peered out from behind "Mr. Spandex" as she had dubbed him, from where she had taken cover after her tirade had been raided. 

He didn't pay any attention to her and instead started walking again. 

"Fairy." Was the almost casually tossed answer over his cloaked shoulder. 

Oh, so that was what the blur was. Huh. Wonder which fairy it was. Not that it really mattered as long as he was not bugging her at a time like this. She didn't know why but there was a certain….something that was making her follow this guy. Like it had something to do with her past. 

Duh duh duh.

What the hell was spandex anyways?

" Anyways. If you think I'm going to follow you, then you have another thing coming buddy." She didn't stop to think that she was making one of those things out herself that her mother had warned her about. 

She liked to think that she was one of those 'strait ahead and damn the artillery' girls that were so rare. It was one of the few things she prided herself on. 

Her mother was probably rolling in her grave with acute pride. 

And thus she ploughed forward, " You know what? I think you need to learn some manners. One just doesn't barge into a castle unannounced to the owner and drag it's occupants off to where no one knows."

" I'm not dragging you." He tossed back to her flatly. 

Ohhhh. He was good; She'd give him that. But that was about all she'd give him.

" Maybe not physically," she muttered then looked away when he shot her a mild look over her shoulder. Innocent. Keep up the act girl. 

Where was that shoulder angel when she needed it?

And then she was bowled over by what can only be described as hell on heels. 

"Ouch." She moaned. "Paaaaaaiiin. It hurts."

The hell, as it was, proceeded to squeeze the ever-loving life out of her. Serena gave a weak mewl as her eyes crossed.

Interaction time. Alrighty then kids, who do you think is 'hell'? No, Guy, quit picking your nose and that is not the right answer. Susie? Uhhhhh…..No. I give up. *

Relena sniffled; the dramatics in overdrive, and commenced bawling like a baby into her sister's shoulder.

Serena only turned blue and twitched a finger, as much of a protest as she could manage at the moment. 

" Oh, Sere, have you any idea how horrible this place is? How could Daddy do this to us, his own flesh and blood? What are we? Chopped liver? I hate liver." As Relena lamented to her despondent sister, the dark figure behind her was sweat dropped on a platonic level. 

Serena gave another good twitch and started going up the color scale to a lovely scarlet that clashed with her dress. Well what could be seen of her dress under all the ruffles and frills of her sister's dress. If it could be called a dress, that is. 

Hell, the other smaller girl was nearly non existent under the other one. 

He decided it would be wise to save her before she died. Or passes out.

Just before he reached down to haul the other girl off of her, Serena did what any highborn female would have done in her predicament. 

She took in a gulp of air and swallowed it. Then screamed into Relena's ear, which, by the mercy of a certain author, was placed conveniently near her mouth.

Later, he'd have to admit he'd never seen anyone move as fast as the 'hell on heels' girl did. 

Except for maybe the vampire he had killed earlier in the day. He knew then she was going to be the ultimate thorn in his side.

 Damn.

When would he ever learn to ignore instincts and stick to logic?

Blessed air was given to her, and Serena gulped it in feverishly, like any human would have done in her situation. 

Well, any normal human that is. Whatever normal means…

She felt her color gradually return to normal and heaved a sigh. Then, without so much as a blink rounded on her sister, spitting with furry. Much like a rabid rabbit. Very scary really, the rabid part I mean.  

"What the _bloody_ hell was that For Relena? Are you _trying_ to kill me? That is considered violent you know. I thought you were a pacifist." Grumbling under her breath, Serena stood up, albeit shakily, and straitened herself up. 

On the floor, Relena blushed and lowered her head accordingly. 

" Sorry."

Serena lanced her with a scathing look, "Pft, no your not."

This time, the other girl winced. 

He watched in utter bemused fascination tinged with a small amount of annoyance, as the petite golden haired girl berated and scolded the much bigger whatever color her hair was girl. 

How very intriguing. 

Serena, as he had figured, sighed and reached down to help her sister up. Had he have been someone else he might not have seen the small, doting smile dancing on the corners of her lips or the flash of love in her eyes. But he was who he was and he saw it. He just couldn't believe it. 

He'd probably never understand the fickle emotions others seemed to wield so easily.

Serena hauled her sister to her feet with a strength born from hard labor, and then placed her arm on the other girl's shoulder, proceeded to give her the Spanish inquisition. 

" What's the matter? Who were you chasing? Why were you chasing him? Was he a fairy with black hair? What did you do to him? And why on earth are dressed like that?"

Visibly resisting the urge to get motion sickness, Relena twiddled her thumbs and started to dutifully answer the questions asked. 

"You've been gone for so long and I'm alone in this huge castle, I never see you. Wufei I think was his name. Very uptight little fellow. Does he have a permanent wedgie? He was the only… person I've seen around here. Before I could ask him where you were he flew away. Yes. Nothing, and I was trying to keep myself occupied. I don't think it worked to well." She sighed at the end of her speech, then finally noticed the figure standing just outside the shadows. 

At first, she seemed to be a tad appalled. But after a moments passing, she warmed up to the whole 'tall, dark and handsome' cliché any romance novel worth it's salt advertised and batted her eye lashes at him.

"Hullo." She murmured, milking the shy girl act for all she was worth. 

Serena decided then and there that she was going to be very sick, if she watched any more of this crap.

"Relena…. Noooo."  

Relena dropped the act faster then a fly on pesticide could drop its guts.  Which was pretty fast considering. 

Once more, Serena found herself roiling with suspicion but going by the old adage " Never look a gift horse in the mouth." And let it drift by. She'd deal with it later. Much later. 

" Right then. Relena, why don't you go back to your room and play dress up, or read and I'll be there soon. Maybe. Right now, I have to talk to Sir. Svandeux* here. Important matters, you understand, yes?" Serena's voiced booked no argument, and when she finished there was a note of command in her voice. 

Relena obviously knew better then to argue with her sister. She smiled as sweetly as she could, which in turn gave anyone within a five mile radius cavities, then turned and shuffled away in a clumpy cloud of frills and lace. 

After the danger had passed, Serena turned to look back at the man. 

"Well? I think you owe me an identity. Who are you?" 

Dark, arctic blues orbs pierced her own gaze, searching deep inside her. She could almost feel it. 

"Don't you remember?" 

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

*If anyone's name is Guy, or Susie, then I'm sorry for any insult I may have done to your person. Or Ego. Whatever. 

*If you say it right it comes out like spandex. Teehee. 

Ohhhhh. Cliffhanger. 

Don't y'all love me? No? oh. Well, I hurt. I love you. And I mean that in the safest, non-sick or twisted way possible. And if you can pervert that anyways, then I have to admit defeat and worship you in your mastery of perversions.

Joke of the Chapter: Find a cheerleader, chop off her legs, give her some knives to throw in the air so it's not your fault she died. 

Cows are evil. So evil, in fact that they have horns. Which is why one must be very cautious when out cow tipping.  


	24. Chapter Twenty Five

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points.**

**Pairings: Oh, lovely, we've got ourselves a triangle. Noooo, wait, it's better then that. It's a freaking rectangle!**

Disclaimer: There is no disclaimer. Isn't that just mind-boggling? :: we see the Idiot go flying through the air, a giant ball of fire chasing after him. Silver's handiwork no doubt.:: But, I don't own anything. So don't sue unless you want two pieces of lint and a monkey. And No, you can't have my monkey. So neah.

**Summary: **

**Sweet Relena??! Are you feeling well dear? O.o? Anyways, yes, poor Wufei. Poor, little guy. I am so cruel to him. ::Sobs:: Hopefully he'll forgive me. Yup, yup yup. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I have a quirky way of dragging things out, ne?**

**Oh, I know what the pairing is going to be, but what s a good romance without a little drama and triangles on the side to spice things up a touch? I'm not sure if I'll allow Mr. Spandex to off the pacifist. Hmmmm….Ack, donna give me ideas.  And lastly, All of 'em. They do take turns of course, I wouldn't want them to start fighting over the uh…control and begin a war in my head. It would be the Holy Mother, father and sister of Migraines. **

**You sure you want to cling to my leg? I can think of a few things that would most certainly deter you from that. One of which includes the cows. Heheheh. But, seeing as how you are my manager and all, I think I'll tell you….soon. ::  is suddenly attacked my acorns and tree branches from a certain irate Squirrel. Ducks and curses as an acorn lands one between her eyes. :: Owie! **

**We get to have a Little peek into Serena's dark, horrible, character altering past. And a bit of torture is administered by a slightly demented fairy match maker wanna be. AND, we have a bit of controversy between Trowa And Heero. GAME!! SET!! FIGHT!!! Whooohooo.  **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Twenty-Five _

They say that the human memory is a wonderful, and often times painful thing. It gave one the power to recall beautiful memories and revisit loved ones long passed. However, there were two sides to every coin, and there was the curse that went with the gift. Horrible and sad memories were able to swim up to the surface of ones mind to taunt them mercilessly.  

She knew him. Maybe not who he was or his name, but she knew his face. If only her head didn't feel like it had just been filled with cobwebs. And the memories she wanted to grab were spiders scurrying away from her reach. 

Her throat went dry as one small memory fought its way to the surface of her mind and echoed in her ears cruelly.  

"_Mummy?Mummy?! Please wake up, Mummy. Please!!! Mummy!!!!? Mummy, wake up!!" A child's hysterical cries to mother who had left her alone._

"_It's no use, child. Your mothers dead." The cruel truth being thrown into her face by a man she didn't know. _

_"Mummy's not dead. She's not. I know she's okay. She just won't wake. Mummy, wake up. Please? Come on Mummy, open your eyes." Refusal to believe. Then shouts of alarm from further inside the forest._

_A curse then, "Damn. Come with me. I'll take you home then I'll go find your mother's killers. That's all I can do for you." _

_The little blonde child was lifted away from her mother's still form and into the arms of a stranger. The one that had saved her from the same fate as her mother._

Serena's eye had glazed over, he noticed. She was remembering. Seeing everything over again as it had happened just as it had happened and not some twisted vision of a warped memory.  

Slowly, the soul flooded back to the blue orbs of Serena's gaze. She blinked, put her fingers to her temples then focused her attention on him. When she spoke her words were gasped, strained. 

"It was you.." She fainted, eyes rolling back to in her head and crumpled to the floor in a surprisingly compact heap. 

Trowa stopped in his tracks and tilted his head to the side to listen to the winds. Well, not the winds exactly, it was more or less the breathing of the castle.  Centuries ago, he would have freaked had he of tried this.That was then this was now. And right now there was something off in the castle, not wrong, just off. Curiosity was going to kill him if he didn't find out what it was. 

Hence he was …. Loping? To where he sensed this odd thing was. Yup, loping. In other words he was running 'merrily' through the torch lit halls like a doggy. Bow wow.

_IF_ someone where to have told Quatre he'd be stuck with a freaking lunatic hell and high water bent on hooking up any two people ((didn't matter who they were or what they were or whether or not they were the same gender)) together in holy matrimony, or unholy which ever the case may be, or just sticking them together for the heck of it, Quatre might have just looked at them as though they were a raving lunatic ((which he was, the freaking creep)) who is not allowed sharp and pointy objects (( Sharp pointy objects? Allah, save me I beg of you.))  and then slowly backed away ((wish I had done that in the first damn place)). But, no one had had either the guts or the courtesy to tell him of his dark, dreary and all too short future thus allowing him to fall into this compromising position he was unable to fight

How the hell was one supposed to fight this thing called duct-tape (which really did not belong in this time, Mind you) and at least two pound of ropes and chains as well as being hog tied to a chair leg? 

He couldn't scream for help, the tape prevented such a thing. 

He couldn't move, the ropes and chains were too restricting. 

He could not see anything, the blind fold stopped any attempts what so ever. 

There should be a law of some sort to prevent this kind of thing, he thought sourly. The circulation to his whole body was _slllloooooooowllly_ being cut off, half of him was tingling and the other half was….gone. Did he still have his legs? How about his arms? His wings? 

"Well, do you give up?" Duo cackled shortly from somewhere behind him. Quatre gave an involuntary whimper and shuddered. Evil, evil, _EVIL_!! And Sleeping Beauty was supposed to have had it bad? Feh, that wicked fairy had _nothing_ on Duo. 

Except for maybe breasts. 

Quatre turned a rather lovely shade of red at that thought.

"Huh? Huh? Huh? Do'ya? Do'ya? Tell me now!" There came the sound of a riding crop snapping at the air. Followed by a sick twisted little giggle of a terrifying quality.

Under the sagging cloth of the blind fold, Quatre's eyes widened fearfully, and he swallowed. Oh. My. God. Exclamation mark. 

He began praying in earnest, using every prayer he had ever heard and making some up along the way. 'Please, Allah, save me and I swear I will never peep on Serena again. And I will never, ever play pranks on Wufei then let Duo take the blame. Please, just get me out of this! My father who art in Heaven….ummm. He who leadeth me through…green pastures, and lay me beside still waters (?)….. Ye, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I shall fear no evil for thou art with me…..PLAESE, have mercy on my soul I beg of you!'

Duo cackled again, and Quatre lost all hope for his future. Bad omen. The end was coming! Can't you feel it? It's was coming!!!

He rolled his eyes upward and thought forlornly, 'You hate me, don't you?'

Another creeping freaky cackle. 

Gulp. 'I hate my life.'

Poke. Poke. Prod. Nudge. He stared down at the crumpled maiden blankly, then poked her with the toe of his boot again. 

No response. 

With a soft mental sigh, he crouched down beside her and waved a hand over her face, "Awaken." A trail of slight glowie thingies followed in the wake of his hand.

This time, he got a response. Lordie did he get a response. 

She woke up _screaming. Right. In. his. Ear. _Annoyed, he slid away from her quickly so as to save his eardrums from certain death only to find them to be ringing. He also found this to be startling. What an intriguing new sensation. And a very irritating one at that.

He didn't quite like it. 

Finally, she choked on her scream and sobbed into a coughing fit.  

He hardly knew what had hit him. One moment he was crouching next to the girl sobbing her heart and coughing other essentials organs out, then next he was pinned to the plush floor of the carpet by what he thought may have been a were wolf and twenty or so knife like talons. Sharp emerald eyes half  glowed at him with rage from underneath messy cinnamon locks. 

His own empty glacial gaze was drilled by the intensity of the other's. 

Tense silence reigned over the hall, aside from Serena's muffled sobs, and pitiful cries of 'Mummy'.

It was a stalemate at the moment.

_End Chapter._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

I think I'll stop there, since if I keep going the writing is going to sound hollow. And boring.

Ugh. I hate school. Hate it, hateithateit. It can go to heck in a freaking hand basket for all I care and _rot_ there. Midterms are coming up, and I'm working my arse off to get my grades up. Weight lifting anyone? Ugh, I say. :: Tries her hardest to just die::

Anyways: 

Check My Bio for Updates and also upcoming stories. ;). 

Joke Of the Chapter: Over heard of the over weight ballerina? She had to wear a three-three instead of a two-two. Oh, god…

Advise Of the chapter: If you happen to have an obsession with blood, then you might just be a vampire. Stay away from pointy wooden objects, and try to wear lots of sunscreen. 

****


	25. Chapter Twenty Six

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. (Beware The joke of this chapter.)**

**Pairings: Oh, lovely, we've got ourselves a triangle. Noooo, wait, it's better then that. It's a freaking rectangle!**

Disclaimer: There is no disclaimer. Isn't that just mind-boggling? :: Idiot lays singed on the ground muttering things to himself and cursing Silver with all his worth. So, he burnt her papers to try and get warm. What's the big deal? Not like he was burning something important…:: But, I don't own anything. So don't sue unless you want two pieces of lint and a monkey. And No, you can't have my monkey. She's my baby so…So neah.

**Summary: **

**Oh. O.O. Finals. X_x. Yikes, I feel for you. Every single iota of my being is oozing sympathy. School sucks more then just @$$ ::Evil snicker:: Well, anyways, Luck be with you. And if that don't work, you can start acting like you have rabies and start foaming at the mouth. It worked for me….**

**Hey, Join the club sister vamp! I'm so pale that everyone calls me the 'Albino Artist' And blood. ::Shivers:: Don't let me get into that. I have no idea when I became so sadistic. :: glares at one of the voices in her head, who is grinning like a maniac on some sort of happy dust, and whispers "It's all your fault!"::**

**I've always favored Heero and Usa myself, but I try to be a 'fair' author and give the other guys a chance. Well, except in Mamo-retarded-baka's case. Who's a psycho? You? Is that a bad thing? I think not. Stand up for the fact that you, my dear, are unique. I know a lot about insanity believe :: cackles like a hyena:: me. Oh thank you, I like to believe I have a ::quote fingers:: "Gift." **

**:: Silver walks in to the room, giant mug of French vanilla macho, with a peppermint candy stick in it in one hand and a bottle of aspirin in the other. She spots the new sign and quirks an eyebrow. "The hell? But I thought Pain and Misery were on vacation? What are they doing peddling here?" sees the discount and a blood vein throbs on her forehead, "50% off!!! Those IDIOTS! Those are my best torture devices. Oh……" Rips the cap off the bottle of aspirin with her teeth and downs a few. "Now, I have to go and buy all my stuff back. Bloody joy." (and there's that b-word! Again!)::**

**A freak. Just kidding. I think, that Slayers are the ones that like sharp Pointy wooden things, hate blood and don't care for sun block. I have but one comment for that….. Please don't steak me. I'm too young to be turned to dust and ashes. I'm innocent! WAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!  Don't worry about the hand basket. I burned it. **

**For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction…. Seems to me that Duo just keeps digging himself deeper and deeper, and into walls no less. How much talent does that take? Well, tension runs thick and we have reached an interesting 'plot bump', if you will. Confrantion. So. What now? **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Twenty-Six. (We going all Da way, baby!) _

The seconds crawled by trying desperately not to be noticed inching their way along, as two pairs jewel toned orbs spat fire and ice at one another, as well as other such things like daggers and swords and the occasional scythe and every other sharp instrument of death in the book. Across the hall, one pair of cloudy blue orbs was spouting fountains, her nose was glowing like Rudolf's and running like Niagara falls. Eww. 

This is about where Duo and Quatre waltzed in. Or, to be more precise, Duo came waltzing in dragging behind him what look to be the cocoon of some macabre butterfly. He was also whistling quite the merry little death march. What a  wonderful thing indeed at a time such as this. 

Actually, if one listened closely enough, one might be able to derive a wedding hymn integrated with the dirge as well. So, in the end, his little tune was like some twisted little marriage dirge -- one gets the distinct feeling that neither the bride nor the groom are 'happy' with their 'blissful' future 'happily ever after' and are currently thinking bad, fatal thoughts of one another. Probably one of those arranged marriages we all dread. 

God, what moron though up that? Sadistic bastard, getting a twisted little kick out of sticking two people who hardly knew one another together for life. Jerks. 

Anyways.

Princess Cry Hard, started to realize just _what _was going on over yonder and port a cork in it. 

She couldn't have them trying to kill each other, one was very dear to her and the other held the only like to her mother. All others had been destroyed by Mamoru, lost in the move or left behind. She didn't even have a grave to visit and leave flowers on. 

There was hardly any sense of closure for her. Sometimes she felt as though she was the only one who remembered her mother. Relena seemed too daft to really miss their mother and Darien never really cared. It was her belief that he was far too interested in trailing skirts then anything else. 

How horrible. He wasn't deep enough to drown a baby in; he was that shallow. 

She was so ashamed of being related to such twits. Life was cruel. 

Back to the subject at hand.

Her gaze zeroed in on a suspicious looking Duo hauling a … sack? No, the sack was struggling. As far as she knew, sacks couldn't do that. She got to her feet, and was ignored by the males on the other side of the hall way in their 'beating of chest and declaration of testosterone superiority' match to find out who was in the sack and save them. Had she had been a betting woman she might have said that it was Quatre. 

Duo didn't notice her till she had plucked him from the air and pried the still struggling sack from his surprised grip. She sniffled a little and undid the know holding the sack together and out dropped a dazed Quatre. 

"Duo, you evil little fairy." She muttered pinning him with a glare that could melt through metal. Duo certainly didn't melt but one got the impression that he'd have like to have melted through the floor at that moment. 

" Didn't your mother ever teach that tying your friends in sacks was very bad? They need to have air holes, at least." 

So, her attempt to cheer herself up with a joke was a flop. But, at least Duo looked as though he had stopped expecting the apocalypse and had started to worry for his life. 

With a fairy in each hand, Serena rounded on the two male ego's that were currently trying to suffocate each other and only succeeding in sending out choking second hand smoke. 

Men.

Jesus. And here we go with the whole sexist opinionated Serena view again. I thought she was learning things during this ordeal. 

As she opened her mouth to tell them to stop, she paused, thought better of it and closed her mouth to watch them. 

It _may_ have been entertaining if the two didn't look as though they were going to rip each other's spinal cords out via their belly buttons and start flying each other with them (interesting mental _picture_ there).

She also supposed that any other woman would have been flattered that two men were fighting over her and all that junk. However, she wasn't 'any other woman' and was very glad of that thank you very much. 

If there were any words to describe how he felt at that precise moment it would have been 'Heaven', heaven and a lollipop. How else would one feel when one was so near to their love interest, and to be touching them? He was so close to her he could feel the gentle pulse of her blood. 

The image of her in that towel had been burned into his mind, as well as several images of her under those soap bubbles a serene smile on her lips. What else on earth could have been more beautiful? He was having a hard time keeping his face from burning red. And it wasn't helping that Duo was watching him like a vulture ready to pounce on him, what with that wicked little smirk he had affixed to his smug little face. 

Quatre had the unsettling yet content feeling that he was sitting between heaven and hell. 

Oh, this couldn't have been better, Duo thought gleefully. Putting his fingers to his lips, he let out a long shrieking whistle, which did quite well in grabbing everyone's attention. 

Trowa leapt back and sheathed his claws, but nonetheless kept a close eye on the intruder. What the hell was going on? He turned to assess Serena's condition and found her to be a little soggy and shaken but still keeping up her strong front. Also, he noted that she hadn't started to rock or go silent and catatonic, as she had usually done before. 

Strange, he mused. 

Duo, looking quite smug, stood up as best he could on Serena's palm and cleared his throat. " I believe, that Sere has no wish to see blood and gore at this moment gentlemen. As it is her bed time. Now," At this he rubbed his hands together with gleeful delight, "Who wants to '_tuck her in_?'" His eyebrows waggled with the not too clean suggestion. 

Five seconds later, Duo's rear was stuck in the wall next to a rather expressive mural of a Greek Goddess, known as Athena. Hmmph, he grunted to himself, Serena must be related to the woman. 

Ahh, very interesting theory. Lets review shall we? Clever, and just a tad wise? Check. War like and independent? Oh yeah. Stubborn? Quite. I think Duo has something here. Serena could very well have the blood of Athena coursing through her veins. This, of course, has very little to do with the story yet, so will get on with it. 

As for Serena, she was shooting looks of torture and mangled death at the braided fairy, though not just a little bit embarrassed. What gave him the right to dare think of such a thing? 

"Pervert." 

Quatre hid a smile behind his hand as he pretended to cough. Funny. Duo go splat. Heheh. 

Righty, then Quatre, you're getting a little psychotic there. Freak. Just kidding, I love you. Not that you know that. Hell, no one can hear me back here! HULLLLOOOOO!!!! See? No one hears me. ::Whimper:: I'm so ignored and alone. Some one hold me….

…Since the little voice in all their heads was being ignored at the moment…. Duo was doing his best to peel himself out of the wall with a crow bar, and was hardly succeeding. As for the other blonde fairy, well, he was hard pressed to keep from laughing. 

Serena was busy wiping the tear stains from her face as best she could and trying her damndest to keep Trowa from noticing her weakness. Again. How pathetic; how many times had she broken down in front of him? Well, actually, none really, but once and then she had fled. In a towel. The next times she hadn't really been crying just hysterical. 

Trowa watched everything with his senses and his magic, keeping tabs on the intruder (while thinking that they would finish what he had started later, when there were no whitnesses), and listening to Duo's grumbling, smelling Quatre's amusement, as well as seeing Serena's tear streaked face. He made a mental note to make like a teddy bear and cuddle up to her later.

All was quiet. 

Finally, Duo stomped on Silence's head and knocked her out. 

Dou fairly flew from the wall with a strange sucking sound then a 'POP', and landed face first in the carpet. There was a muffled curse then he pulled himself up and shook his head, causing his braid to lash at the lair like a cat o' nine tails. 

Rubbing his nose, he looked up at the others. 

"So what now?" 

Now that is what I like to call a VEQI; otherwise known as a Very Excellent Question Indeed. Quite.  

_End Chapter_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  _

Wow. I sure wrote this fast. Not bad. Not good, but none too shabby. Ahhhhh, I hate being sick. It's all the school's fault, damn them. May they burn and rot in Heck for this. Poor me. 

Send me lots of Vitamin C. That way I'll get better fast and won't have to deal with sneezing up arteries and organs anymore. And no body's commented on my idea for a story. Something Like Human. (God, I love Fuel) It's at my Bio. Go see. And tell me what you think and any opinions you may have. It will really help me when I write it out fully. Right now, It's in it's guideline stage.

Joke Of The Chapter: 

A priest took a sabbatical to a fishing lodge. On the last day of his trip he hooked a monster fish and proceeded to reel it in. The guide, holding a net, got overly excited and yelled, "Look at the size of that Son of a Bitch!" The Priest scolded, "Son, I"m a priest. Your language is uncalled  for!" "No, Father", said the guide thinking fast, "that's what kind of fish it is. A Son of a Bitch fish!" "Really?", said the priest. "Well help me land this Son of a Bitch!"  
           Once in the boat, they marveled at the monster. The guide exclaimed, "Father, that is the biggest Son of a Bitch I've   
 ever seen!" "Yes, it is a big Son of a Bitch." said the priest, "what should I do with it?" The guide replied, "Why eat it of course. You've never tasted anything as good as that Son of a Bitch!"  

 Elated, the priest headed home to the church. While unloading his  gear, and his prize catch, Sister Mary inquired about his trip. "Take a look at this big Son of a Bitch I caught!" said the proud Padre. Sister Mary gasped and clutched her rosary, "Father!" 

The priest explained, "It's ok Sister. That's what kind of fish it is. A Son of a Bitch fish!" Relieved, Sister Mary said, "Oh, well then what are you going to do with that big Son of a Bitch?"

"Why, eat it of course." he replied. "The guide said nothing compares   
 to the taste of a Son of a Bitch." 

The Sister informed the priest that the Pope was scheduled to visit ina few days and that they should fix the Son of a Bitch for dinner. "I'll even clean the Son of a Bitch", she said. As she was cleaning the huge fish, the ! Friar walked in and said, "What are you doing Sister?"

 "Father wants me to clean this big Son of a Bitch for the Pope's dinner," she said.

 "Sister! I'll clean it if you're so upset! Please watch your language!" scolded the Friar.

 Sister Mary said, "No, no, no. It's called a Son of a Bitch fish. Really."

 The Friar replied, "Oh, well in that case I'll fix up a great meal and that Son of a Bitch can be the main course! Let me know when you've finished cleaning that Son of a Bitch."

 On the night of the Pope's visit, everything was perfect. The Friar  had prepared an excellent meal, there was wine, and the fish was excellent.

The Pope said, "This is great fish, where did you get it?"

 "I caught the Son of a Bitch!" proclaimed the proud priest." The Pope's eyes opened wide, but he said nothing.

 "And I cleaned the Son of a Bitch!" exclaimed the sister. The Pope sat silent in disbelief.

And the friar added, "And I prepared the Son of a Bitch, using a special recipe!"

 As the Pope looked at each of them a big smile slowly crept across his face. Leaning back in his chair, he put his feet up on the table, lit a big cigar and said…   
 "You fuckers are alright!!"__

Due to the extent of the above joke there will be only this as my advice;  Laugh and the world Laughs with you; cry and the world is suddenly sheepish and remembers it had other plans. Which is why I suggest that you laugh like a maniac while you cry. You'll either scare the hell out of the world or confuse it badly. Not sure if these are good things or not, but they are quite funny. 

****


	26. Chapter Twenty Seven

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. (Beware The joke of this chapter.)**

**Pairings: Oh, lovely, we've got ourselves a triangle. Noooo, wait, it's better then that. It's a freaking rectangle!**

Disclaimer: There is no disclaimer. Isn't that just mind-boggling? :: Idiot lays singed on the ground muttering things to himself and cursing Silver with all his worth. So, he burnt her papers to try and get warm. What's the big deal? Not like he was burning something important…:: But, I don't own anything. So don't sue unless you want two pieces of lint and a monkey. And No, you can't have my monkey. She's my baby so…So neah.

**Summary: **

**Ahh, you honor me with your praise. ::bows humbly, though there is nonetheless an insane smile on her face:: By the way, I enjoyed reading your story Good Riddance. Lovely way of dying by laughter. Never got around to reviewing, but since you're here now….. I have lost count of how many times I fell out of my chair in giggle spaz out fits. Honest to all that is insane and Unholy. **

**DAHH!! ::Jumps up and clings to the nearest pole, clearly ignoring the freaked out people reading over her shoulder. The pole was twenty feet away…:: My god, that's freaky. A friend at my school says 'Indeed' all the time. Wow. ::Jumps down from pole as though it was the most normal thing in the world to scream and jump twenty feet from a sitting position to a pole and hold on for dear life.:: But, the best way to keep people out of your room is to get a possessed door that barks. Or moo's. As I said before, cows are evil. And not the good evil, either. They are the bad evil.**

**I'd say Wufie is hiding somewhere, hugging himself and praying like there was no tomorrow.  :: A voice, a new one, shouts in her head. "My name is Wufei, baka onna!!" Silver is so startled she falls out of her chair with a curse. "What are you DOING in my HEAD!!!?" Wufei shouts back gruffly, "It's the only reasonably safe place that the demon can't get me." Silver's picks herself up and dusts herself off, arching an eyebrow. "Reasonably Safe? Boy, are you on crack. And by Demon, I take it you mean Relena?" Wufei screams and starts rocking himself. Silver, "Right then. Okay, well, fine stay there, but touch anything, and I will steal your katana and use it to shave your head." ::**

**Oh, don't bother with looking for any more doors. I destroyed all others I've got around here. Didn't want any noses where they don't belong. But your welcome to look if you want. And, can I please get my weapons back? :: insanely huge dewy eyes and big tears:: Pwease? Pweety pwease with ice cream and acorns on top?? Hmmm?**

**Jealousy is a horrible disease of the heart, and right now, Trowa is starting to get ill. Serena is so close to finding out more of her mother and….well, with every chapter we get closer to something. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Twenty-Seven.  _

Well, Serena thought with no small amount of bitter irony, no matter how hard I tried to forget the past it wall just has to come back and slap me upside the head now doesn't it? What did I ever do to deserve this anyways? I'm cursed, that's the only logical explanation for all this. How else would I have ended up in a freaking Goth castle with a Beast and three fairies a vampire(deseased) and a ….creepy guy? 

A creepy guy that had to have known my mother. What the hell is wrong with the world? 

Fate just loves nibbling on my ass, no? 

And, if that weren't enough, here they were, they being that strange guy, Trowa, Duo, and a hormone enlightened Quatre, standing in a hall –close quarters of course- _staring_ at each other.

 STARING! Of all the things they could be doing right now, like her digging up facts about her mother from that guy, they were staring at one another as though at any moment one of them would grow another head and start doing the can-can. In only a napkin, no less. 

Oh, she wasn't angry. If someone were to ask her why she was shifting her height and gnashing her teeth, she could quite honestly say that she was not angry. 

She was stark, raving mad! 

Why? 

As soon as she figured that out she'd get back to you on that. 

However at the moment, she wanted nothing more then to shove her fist down both egomaniacs throats, tell them to stop attempting to skin each other alive with their eyes and force that guy to tell her what he knew of her mother. 

Now, Serena is not as dumb as her hair hue would denote. Rather, she knew quite well why Trowa was so on edge. It was called Jealousy. 

Nasty little beast of an emotion. Very dark. 

And, the stranger was only acting the way he was, was because he had been rather rudely pinned to the ground after all. It was only natural that he be wary.

But, it was much easier to peg it all off on testosterone. 

Trowa glared at the dark figure, the dark one glared back in what can only be described as a Death and Horror to you and yours glare. Creepy….

Yes, much easier. 

Serena gave up. It took too much energy to be angry for something that was out of hands. Instead she settled her stomach which she felt as though there were snakes chasing around the butterflies and centered her sharp gaze on the stranger. 

" You saved me," she shot a pointed look at Trowa, he met her gaze yet he still didn't relax his stance; her eyes flashed back to the other male, "Did you know my mother?" 

The tension in the room, which had been strung tight like a violin string straining and trembling gave with a near audible '_twang_'. As a result, the glare war was declared over for now and those arctic, near lifeless eyes fastened themselves fully on her. 

She had the oddest thought that he was staring strait _into_ her, dissecting all her thoughts and secrets and emotion with his eyes. It was a silly notion, but that was how it felt to her. The gaze was hard, intense, but she resisted the urge to look away knowing in some odd way that she was being tested. 

Well, she'd be _damned _if she was going bow out of this silent challenge to her strength. She'd witnessed the murder of her mother and had not completely broken, and only at six years of age, she'd survived the rough child hood forced to serve her brother and sister's whim and time and time again become the mediator between them when they fought. 

She'd been the grunt of all the village kids jokes, used for target practice and constantly tortured by her brother.

Was she going to allow herself to be judged as weak? 

Feh, hell no. They all could kiss her lily-white bum for all she cared. She wasn't going to let anyone think her pathetic. 

Brave child, he admitted. And smart. She knew what he was doing. He admired that. It was rare that someone, other then that beast, could stand up to the full weight of his gaze. It was half the reason he was as feared as he was among his enemies. The other half being that he was ruthless and refused to let his chosen prey live. He'd earned himself the reputation as a Grim Reaper. Death, was he to them. They all died. One way or another, sooner or later.

And of course it should be only expected that Duo should add his opinion. 

Ahh, yes, the comic relief, which often sprang up at the wrong time. Every story has one. 

He directed his comment to Trowa where it would gain the fullest effect. "Hey, man, the creeps checking out your lady. He's invading your territory. You gonna let him do that?" 

Trowa tensed further, his head lifting a little so that he towered over all present. 

And there goes the neighborhood…. I guess I should just stop with these little quips and get back to writing. 

Serena's eyebrow twitched and she stomped her foot dangerously close to Duo. 

But not quite on him. The little fairy was about as pale as a sheet and trembling from the absolute fear that he was _this _close to becoming one with the red carpet. He breathed a sigh of relief that was short lived when he realized he was caught. She was standing on his braid. He panicked. The startled to struggle with all the strength of a hell cat.

" Yes, I knew your mother." 

The collective attention of the room snapped from Duo's struggles back to the stranger then to Serena to watch her reaction. 

She kept her face carefully blank, not allowing herself to hope for something that may not have been there at all. However, that did not stop her from searching his eyes, wanting to now more. _ Needing _to know more. She hardly remembered her mother. Just soft "I love you's," as she was tucked into bed and a gentle lullaby. A few images of a pale silver-haired woman leaning against a tree trunk and reading to her children as they hung upon her every word. 

What was her mother's favorite color? Her favorite flower? Was she anything like her mother? All these questions, and she may have found someone to answer them. May have…

Every muscle within her was tightly tensed, a bow string, she hung to that slim hope that today she would be closer to a mother she hadn't had the chance to remember. Her gut quivered, the urgency in her eyes nearly tangible as she pierced the stranger with the electric blue of her eyes.

"Tell me.  All that you know about, I want you to tell me everything. What books she liked, what she was like, was she beautiful. Everything." Her voice was strained, hesitant but forceful.

Trowa felt something, a white hot dart of something shoot through his hear at the look of painful hope on her face. He felt as though he was loosing something he never had in the first place. 

He was certain that this was going to change everything between Serena and him. 

Again.

_End Chapter_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  _

I just have to say that I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Yes. I love them a lot. Ever since I first heard them. I must have been six. Wow. Long time. Then again, I could have my years wrong. Lesse I was about 3 feet high, so I had to have been under 8….well, anyways. I just love them. ::Cheesy Grin:: 

Joke of the Chapter: A single Mother asks her 10-year-old son if he knows about the birds and the bees.  "I don't want to know!" the child says, bursting into tears. "Promise me you won't tell me!"  Confused, the mother asks him what's wrong.  "Oh, Mom," the boy sobs. "When I was six, I got the 'There's no Santa speech.'  At seven, I got the 'There's no Easter Bunny' speech.  When I was eight, you hit me with the 'There's no tooth fairy' speech. If you're going to tell me that grownups don't really get laid, I'll have nothing left to live for!"

Advice for Chapter: Fall in love. Just don't fall hard. You might break your heart.

****


	27. Chapter Tewnty Eight

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. **

**Pairings: Oh, lovely, we've got ourselves a triangle. Noooo, wait, it's better then that. It's a freaking rectangle!**

Disclaimer: You know, disclaimers aren't too bad…hell, one usually gets to write some rather amusing scenarios in which one has gained possession of G.W or S.M. and thusly wreaks havoc on said shows. (Killing Mamoru off, slaughtering anything of pink origin and so on, or just torturing them all.) But, well, lets face it. No one wants to hear that they are as poor as the soil animals piddle on, now do they? And, I  unfortunately have not much to my name. Just a bunch of plushies, horses and bishies, and about ten dollars, which I will not give anyone. Notice that among my worldly goods, GW or SM was not mentioned? Yes. And what can we conclude from that? Simple. I own nadda, but my plot and insanity. 

**Summary: :: Sputters incredulously when she find her ice cream and frozen yogurts gone. Sighing, because there in the corner of the freezer was a certain Squirrel's calling card, an acorn. " Might as well go shopping, I needed to do that anyways." Pulls out her wallet, with a charming picture of a unicorn on the front and opens it. Her jaw drops…. Then she smiles. " Damn good thing I'm an author." Grabs a piece of paper and starts writing. She finishes and opens her wallet again. 100 dollars stare back at her. : Oh, but I'm not all that bad am I? With the cows and all? :: Shrugs then mounts her silver horse and rides off to the store. Fun fun.**

**Of course sucking up to the author isn't a crime. Who ever told you that? ::grinz:: **

**I am glad you love this story so much. It's been a blast writing it. :: Scratches head:: Though, it sometimes confuses me. Eh, well….:: turns beet red at all the good compliments.:: God your too nice. I think I'm going to die from acute blood rush. That really doesn't sound fun -_-. And thank you for the luck. I'll need it in math. **

**I'll try to make the chapters longer, but I can't not do the detailing. That would annoy the voices in my head. They like being through perfectionists. ::Winces under the sudden attack of a head ache.:: I know T-man outa chara and it sometimes drives me nuts (again) but, I think I can fix that. Well, see I'm so white that if the sun hits my skin just so, I can blind someone with my paleness. **

**The outcome of the couples will surprise some people, I think….then again, maybe not. I'm not as secretive and mysterious as I like to think. **

**We're at insanity, we've been there, done that, so does anyone want a t-shirt? I know it's a bad cliffie. I think it'll give the wanted effect though. **

**Oh you guys are going to hate me for what I just did. Forget hate, your going to gut me and hamstring me then take away all my pens and papers and my computer so I can't write anymore. After of course you make me heal Trowa. And I am not talking about his heart.  **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

_Chapter Twenty-Eight. (Good Lord….)  _

One week. One miserable, lifeless week. Trowa sighed imperceptibly, leaning back in his plush chair. The very one he had sat in that one night, keeping vigil over Serena's sleep.

 Shaking the thought from his mind, Trowa stood up easily, a motion so fluid it would have made water weep ice shards with envy. He shouldn't be so damn concerned about a simple _girl. _If you wanted to be perfectly honest, she was an annoyance. Ever since she had first arrived.

It had been nothing but chaos, mayhem and a dash of pandemonium occasionally and one had a party. (He had never been to keen on parties. Stuffy affairs really.) Mentally, he ran a checklist of all the things that Serena had gotten him into since she had come to his castle. 

1. She dared to mock him, acting as though she had not seen anything wrong with his appearance. 

2. She had brought that…girl, Relena with her. 

3. First night, she runs about the castle, dressed in a towel and threatening the residents with certain, if not flashy, death by peashooter. What kind of psychopath used peashooters anyways? It was common knowledge that any one who was some one used eye lash curlers. Duh.

4. Then, she goes and advertises herself for blood donations to the hungry/thirsty. That was plain idiocy.

5. She had the gall to actually insult him day in and day out. By calling him gay, for one. That was annoyance at play, right there. Indeed it was. 

6. Well, there really was no number six, it just added to the sound goodness of the whole list.

7. No number seven either.

8.  And, then the kicker. She made him feel like he was human. How cruel was that? It was like saying, "Here you go, you genetic mistake, feel like a normal human even though you're a walking reason why cousins, brothers and sisters should not have the hard and heavy liquor at a make out party." Boy, did that make him feel GOOD. Can we feel the sarcasm?

 Yeah, he nodded, that just about covered it. So, why in hell was he so concerned and jealous over a guy, whom by his judgments was at least twenty years older then her. Not that he looked physically so, but he did smell it. He wasn't human. 

Trowa didn't know what he was. Perhaps that's why he was so worried over the girl. Yeah, that had to be it. 

Ah, who the bloody hell was he kidding? You can lie to every one else but not to yourself. 

Cupid, he thought darkly, I'm gonna shove that toy arrow set up your….

As Serena didn't know that she was currently the reason for Cupid being hung up with a wedgie that could top all wedgies by his little huggies diapers, she was able to carry on her day with a clear conscience. 

And at about that moment, she was learning that her mother, surprise, flaming surprise, had been a rather good shot with a bow and arrow (or a peashooter, though the woman probably didn't run around clad in a few droplets of water and a scandalously short towel). 

Her informant, Heero as he had introduced himself as thus, was asking her if she wished for him to teach her. 

She looked at him, closely. "Are you mad? Of course I want to learn. Show me?" 

Was that a smile, she saw ghosting about his lips? Surely not. She blinked and it was gone. Well, she thought bemused; I guess lack of sleep does cause hallucinations. Better sleep better from now on. 

When someone pulls something out of thin air, the general reaction of whoever's watching is to stare in disbelief and try to pick his or her jaw up off the floor. Well, Serena was not the 'general' or even normal. She'd employed that trick too many times to be awed by it now. 

Still, one tends to be startled when a quiver of arrows and a bow, strung and ready appear in a pair of hands that had held nothing moments previous. 

It was a neat trick. 

Almost fearful, one of Serena's slim hands reached out and took the bow from him. Her eyes danced over the weapon/-hunting tool. Her mother had used one… and now she was going to learn. She felt the familiar stinging of tears beneath her eyes and smiled warmly at the man standing a few feet from her, still holding the quiver and watching her carefully. 

"Thank You," she whispered, " for what you are doing for me." 

"Your mother would have wanted you to learn." He brushed her words of gratitude off like they were just flies, but still, Serena was too happy to be hurt.  

Running. It may not have been the best approach to the 'problem', but it was all Trowa was interested in at the moment. So, he was running through the trees, all four paws slicing through the soil and undergrowth before being lifted up and away. 

Running. Maybe he was flying. Or floating. 

He felt all the troubles of the castle; Serena included fade as he left them behind. All there was in his world, was the scent of the trees and the muscles off his body coiling and releasing, the air whispering through his sensitive nose into his lungs then back out again.   

Suddenly, he was back to being the old introverted Trowa and not the Trowa he'd become with Serena around. Suddenly, he was himself again. 

Or maybe he had always been himself and it was a just a new facet of his hidden personality. It could have been that….

No. Don't think. Just run. Fly. Forget those things. 

Fly, they say, be free they say. Blah blah blah. Poor little beastie boy. Running never gets anyone anywhere, I think he'll have to figure that out for himself though. A little knowledge is a powerful thing. But a lot hurts. He'll find out. 

Serena notched the arrow to the bow, then under his careful tutelage corrected her stance and lifted the bow to draw the string back. The shaft of the arrow caressed her fingers gently, as she stared down the wooden shaft taking aim. 

Beside her, Heero's hand whispered against her own, moving her fingers to the right position then drifting away again leaving her alone. 

Her world shrank and narrowed till there was only her, the target and the bow and arrow. She drew the arrow back further and released her breath. Her lungs shifted again, pulling air in. 

_" Sere, that's my girl. Both eyes open, darling. You need to see with all of you, not half. That's it. Release you breath and let the tension flow from you. Good girl." _

Her mother's voice drifted to her on the winds of a far off memory. That's right, her mum had taught her to shoot before. A small kid bow and carved sticks with feathers fixed to the back of them. Serena smiled, lethargic with the memory as her eyes drifted half closed. 

The trees flashed by him as he ran, blurring into the same intense emerald hue of his eyes. His lips were stretched into as much of a smile as the facial structure would allow. Basically, he was grinning like a wolf would, and he was sorely tempted to let his tongue hang from his mouth. 

A very familiar scent tickled his nose and he slowed to an easy lope scenting the air. Yes he was sure that it was Serena's. No other could smell like that. And he was close to her now. Such a shame that other man was with her otherwise he would have went to see her. Despite all that he had tried to tell himself… 

Serena shifted her weight and slowly released the arrow. It whistled through the air, cutting through the particles like a hot knife through butter. Her eyes snapped open and she watched the black feathers on the arrow spin as it flew. 

From her peripheral vision she saw a vaguely familiar rich cinnamon hued wolf like form blur through the trees. And right into the path of the arrow. 

Her blood froze as her heart leaped into her throat and clung to her tonsils like a lifeline. She was running before she had the chance to process any thoughts, screaming for Trowa to stop, to turn, move out of the arrow's path. Anything. But, he was not hearing her. 

Serena's scent was suddenly tainted by fear. And the aroma cut into the delicate tissue of his nostrils. If there had been a rope tied about his waist that had suddenly been pulled taught he couldn't have stopped faster. His claws dug into the earth, giving the friction needed to slow his momentum; he rose to his hind legs before he had fully stopped. 

Something was flying at him. His pupils dilated, focusing on the object, but even if he'd acted then he wouldn't have escaped the arrow. He could only watch, a spectator in an act written by some unknown playwright and being acted by someone he was not familiar with and didn't care for. 

He did have the time to look up and meet the clouded blue eyes that belonged to Serena as she raced towards him, to see the arrow gripped in her hand, to hear her screams for him to do something and not stand there. Each tear that flew from her sweet face, he saw. 

Perhaps it was by some small mercy that he didn't feel the arrow bury itself into his flesh, but he did feel the impact. In shock, he looked down at the shaft, one clawed hand held it, before his eyes rolled back. 

Serena nearly tripped over a vine but she gained her balance and kept going, even as the shaft of the arrow bloomed over Trowa's heart. He stared at her, shock in his beautiful eyes, before one hand clasped over the wound, the shaft of the arrow jutting through his fingers. 

Time slowed to a crawl. 

He looked back up at her, confusion and accusation and something else in his eyes. 

Then those gems rolled back in his head and he was falling. 

Falling 

        Just  

               Like 

                     Her

                         Tears. 

With a scream, Serena sat up and clapped a hand over her mouth. Wildly, her eyes looked around and landed on the still figure in the bed. She pulled her hands from her lips and ran a hand through her damp hair. Just a nightmare. Just a horrible nightmare. 

Standing on pudding-for-legs, she wavered over to the bed and stared down at Trowa's sleeping form, the covers hiding the white bandages across his chest. 

Her hand, of it's own accord, reached out and touched his furred cheek. The fur there was soft as velvet, she noted guiltily. 

Kneeling, she took one of his hands into her own and held it tightly. She noticed his hand was so much bigger then hers. So much stronger. And yet, here he was. Nearly dead because of her. Weak, little her. 

Now there was an irony if she'd ever heard of one. 

" I'll probably never stop telling you I'm sorry." She muttered dryly, "And I know sorry doesn't take back what I did, but I really am sorry. I'd rather have been the one to take that damned arrow instead of you." 

It escaped her notice that she was holding his hand to her heart, and there were now tears in her eyes. "God, I am so stupid. If I had of paid more attention to what I was doing instead of daydreaming, you'd be just fine. It's all my fault. Trowa, if I'll never ask you for anything again, but his. Please, wake up and at least let me know you're-" she swallowed harshly, trying not to sob, " okay and that everything will be all right. I don't care if you don't ever forgive me. Just please wake up. Wake up, please?" 

Her words were an echo of the past and here it was that she finally broke down. 

" I always hurt the ones I love. It's all my fault. Mum died because of me and now you might die too. I never meant for any of this to happen. I never ::sob:: It was all my fault she was killed." 

She rested her forehead on the edge of the bed, hot tears running down her cheek and scalding her tender flesh. Each tear held a small piece of her broken heart, broken by the memories.  

_End Chapter_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   _

::Winces as she reads over the chapter:: Oh boy. I don't think I like that twist of events. Not to mention the cliff hanger I just gave you. Please don't burn me at a stake… I burn way too easily.  

Well, I at least hope you enjoyed the new part. By the way, I'd say we're getting to the climax of the story. And I must ask you for a favor. Tell me what you think about my newest idea for Something Like Human. I'll need your opinions, whatever they may be, to help me flesh out the story since it's still in the outline stages. 

Joke of the Chapter:  A single Mother asks her 10-year-old son if he knows about the birds and the bees.  "I don't want to know!" the child says, bursting into tears. "Promise  me you won't tell me!"  Confused, the mother asks him what's wrong.  "Oh, Mom," the boy sobs. "When I was six, I got the 'There's no Santa speech.'  At seven, I got the 'There's no Easter Bunny' speech.  When I was eight, you hit me with the 'There's no tooth fairy' speech.  If you're going to tell me that grownups don't really get laid, I'll have nothing left to live for!"

Advice for the Chapter: Don't let the voices in your head tell you what to do. You might end up writing something horrible then hate yourself for it. ::gets another sudden headache, and curses::   
  


****


	28. Chapter Twenty Nine

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. **

**Pairings: Oh, lovely, we've got ourselves a triangle. Noooo, wait, it's better then that. It's a freaking rectangle!**

Disclaimer: Well, if I did own this, the 'Nice' lawyer people dudes wouldn't be here now would they? And that _idiot_ wouldn't be burned to a micro-fine crisp( for which I am quite guilty of…. But I plead innocence)

**Summary: **

**I do believe you deserve the award for the Longest Review Ever. :: Reveals a custom made trophy with a cute little chibi Shinnigami Duo on it winking while hugging Wufei and Quatre. :: Hence, I present you with this reward. Patented by me of course. Doomo arigatoo gozaimasu, for the pick me uppers. I really enjoyed them, contrary to what you may think. **

**Of course Quatre likes her. Blame it all on the hormones. ^_^.**

**Since I used the elf idea in this story I will have to give credit where it's due. SANK YOO, SHUNU NO MIKO-CHAN!! Hehehe. **

**::As silver is walking down the street whistling happily and listening to her head phones, her peaceful(yeah, right) world is shattered by a high pitched, chipmunky scream of rage. Blinking, she turns to watch as several tree limbs of variable size fly into the air just over her house (along with a few birds nests and black dots that can only be acorns) "Heh. Guess Squirrel found my present. God, this is just the greatest fun." She turns back to her task and starts going again.::**

**I honestly haven't got the slightest bloody clue as to what I am. I could be any one of those. Or I could be something else. Who knows. I don't. However, I am quite aware that I am confusing. I've experienced it first hand. I confuse myself, I am that bad. Wish I could write as good as I do too. ::sweat drops and scratches head in puzzlement.:: **

**:: Pales at the thought of muses and voices ganging up on her.:: Speaking of making friends roll over, does milk(or other liquid) come outa their noses? I've never seen that spectacle. **

**A possessed fruit bowl. A few new surprises. A little love. Shaken not stirred, and let sit for about an hour and what if you've got is one hell of a mess, in an unconventional messy way that is. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

**Chapter Twenty-Nine. **

As I have said before, this story is _not _about love, never was never will be. But, you still do not believe me do you reader? No, of course not. I can't lie worth horse droppings. Well, I can…but, whatever. 

Since you do not believe me, I guess it would be best if I got off my high horse and gave you all what you want, no?

 Very well. 

To say that Serena did quite the impression of a snake in the effect that she almost leapt from her skin would have been like saying, she was so startled she jumped out of her skin, but then I would be repeating myself wouldn't I? Well, in any case she did, when Trowa's paw in her hold twitched. Not enough to seriously make her freak out, but just enough to have her leaning towards him, wide eyed and ready to see if he was alive and going to wake up. Does that make any level of sense? Yes. Good. 

Her breath hitched itself to her throat and stayed there for the honey-moon as she watched the eye flicker back and forth beneath the heavily lashed lids. Finally, the spasmodic flickering ceased and the lids opened a sliver. 

She felt as though her jaw was going to cramp from how tightly she kept it closed, waiting for him to wake fully before she let out an ear-shattering squeal worthy of a dying rabbit. 

As it was, it couldn't stop the slight whimper that tickled the back of her throat, and her breath gushed out of her nose as a result. The air gently ruffled the long bangs that partially covered his face, which also served to make his nose wrinkle as the hairs tickled it. 

Serena felt his hand tighten around her around and swallowed. He didn't loosen his hold. Good sign; he was coming to. 

Yippy Kai Yai Yay! Erm, right. 

"Trowa? You awake?" She asked, her voice strained despite her best efforts to keep calm. 

There was silence then, he looked at her out the corner of his half closed eyes and lifted an eyebrow at her proximity. " No, not really."

She glared at him in return for his smart ass remark, and resisted the urge to bop him one right on the kisser. Or kiss him right on the bopper, whatever the hell that implied….. um, eww?  

Anyways, and there bloody well better be an anyways, Serena's nimble fingers found a tuft of fur on his hand and pulled hard all the while she smiled at him happily. 

He winced and loosed his tight grip on her hands, " You are evil." 

Which reminded her….

In the next instant, Trowa found himself in the path a typhoon and rather wishing he had an umbrella. No such luck though, might as well deal with it. She sobbed and lamented her woes to him, about how sorry she was and that she never meant to hurt him and that it was a horrible accident , yada yada. Would he ever forgive her? Yes. So he wasn't mad? Nope. Oh. 

That over and done with, a soggy Trowa handed her a corner of his sheets and leveled a look at her that said, 'not on me'. Well, seeing as how she was straddling his hips, Sere gave him a wet smile and let him have that small mercy and wiped her eyes on the silk cloth while he did his best to sit up. 

He sat up with very little trouble and set to work examining the bandages about his chest. Then he examined her through his lashes carefully. That and he was acutely aware of her…their _interesting_ position.  Well, far be it from him to point that little detail out. He'd rather enjoy it while it lasted. 

Maybe he should get himself shot more often… or not. Wincing as she sniffled, he offered her the other corner of the sheets mutely. He hated to see her cry. 

Damn his sensitivity; here he'd been shot and nearly killed and he was worried about her crying. He desperately needed to get his priorities in line. 

Serena was  _immensely _glad he was okay, and that she was forgiven. Over the few days he had been teetering on the life and death's knife blade edge she had come to a realization. A very important one that she wanted to tell him but hadn't the slightest inkling as to how to approach him about it. 

So lost in thought was she that she hardly noticed that Trowa was staring over her shoulder at something over her shoulder, or rather. Some one. 

Or some one's if you counted to the little eavesdropper's hiding in a fruit bowl on a table near the wall. 

But no one noticed this little thing. 

Finally noticing that Trowa was burning holes into whatever was behind her, she twisted to see what it was. Trowa had a hard time keeping those lovely little things I like to call hormones in check from her movement. Honestly, the girl was torturing him. But, at least it was the good kind…. Bad thoughts, Trowa. Get yer mind from the gutter and keep it clean. But it was such a nice gutter. NO! Trowa shoved the perpendicular opinions of his mind and/or other voices back to the way back and put more venom in his glare. 

'It' was Heero, and he was leaning against the wall, calmly enough. Acting as though he actually _belonged _there, which really ticked Trowa off. 

There was that jealousy thing again. 

"You were lucky. The arrow nearly pierced your heart." Came the monotone informational tone. 

One apple in the bowl of fruit snickered, an orange sighed and another pear grunted. 

All occupants five feet and up didn't notice the talkative fruits and so they went on with their scheduled conversation/confrontation. 

Serena swallowed, and Trowa squeezed her hand gently trying to offer comfort instead of a sheet corner. 

Heero pushed himself away from the wall and took a few steps closer, thusly bringing him to the side of the bed. His eyes met Serena's and she was pinned. Or maybe she wasn't and it was Trowa that was pinned but not by the gaze just by her weight. 

"Who are you really?" She asked finally, "_What _are you?" 

Heero sighed and crossed his arms, buckling down for the long haul. "I told you a week ago that I would tell you everything. I will. And now that he," he made a vague motion in Trowa's direction, much to the other's irritation, " is present I will instead of the half truths. What I am, is an Elf," he proved this by brushing the wild shocks of hair away from his ears to reveal a finely tapered point typical of the elfish society. Dropping his hand, the hair fell back into place thus hiding all signs.

"And so are you. Don't act so shocked; you knew very well that your are different then the other humans. You can feel it." 

Trowa reached up and lifted the hair that constantly concealed Serena's ears and was shocked to find them delicately pointed. Why hadn't he noticed them before?

One of the fruits gagged on something, the orange it seemed.  

Her nimble fingers felt the tips in disbelief, "But.." 

"Your mother's magic hid them from you and others till now. The castle's undone the spell." 

Serena found that normal breaths weren't getting enough oxygen to her blood, and so she took a deeper breath and kept going with that. Of course, Heero wasn't done with the apocalyptic shocks yet and was aiming for giving her a coronary. Or an aneurysm. Whichever one it was he was going for he was doing a damn fine job getting there. 

" Both your mother and your father are elves." He gauged her reaction carefully. 

She wanted to tell him that her father wasn't an elf, that he was a human, but Trowa saved her from the heart attack and did it for her. 

Heero smirked. " No. That wasn't her father. The moron was merely an ally. Arranged marriage, you figure it out. Her real father is-" 

The pear in the fruit bowl suddenly leapt up, sprung arms and pulled a katana, a.k.a a glorified pin needle and with a war cry took to the air after the apple. The orange merely sighed and remained where it was. Quite content to view the death of the apple from where it rested.

It was a rather hilarious scene, Serena would have to admit. But at the moment, breathing was more important. After all, what was one to do when everything that you had believed turned out to be a lie? Simple. One usually faints. However, Serena held onto her consciousness with a tenacity that should be considered war-like in it's valor. She hated fainting. And, she had done it one too many times already.  So, in an effort to keep herself conscious, she turned her eyes to Heero, who was watching the fruit fight with a dull interest. 

Clearing her throat, and taking a deep breath thusly managing to call Heero's attention back to her she asked the question that was on both her and Trowa's minds. 

"Who is my father?" 

End Chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I just had to cut off there. Just had to. However, I wish to beg of you your forgiveness. You all probably hate the fact that I drop cliff hanger after cliff hanger after cliff hanger on you and then make you wait. Sorry.

Anyways. I hope you are all pleased by these new twists of plot. Not to mention, I am getting close to finishing the story. Perhaps 2 or 3 more chapters will be turned out, but they will be done as quickly as I can, because I want to turn my attention to my newest story Something Like Human. Which, by the way and need some opinions you may have on creating a human life simply for the purpose of study and experimentation. I NEED YOU TO LET ME KNOW. 

Joke: A little boy and girl go trick or treating. They knock on the door of this house and the man who answers it says,  
 "Well, you two are awful cute. Who are you supposed to be?"  
 "We're Jack and Jill" she replied.  
 The man says, "You can't be Jack and Jill, you're black!"  
 So, they go off and a while later they come back dressed differently. They ring the doorbell and once again and the man opens the door. 

"Well now, that is just darn cute. Who are you this time?"  
 "We're Hansel and Gretel" says the little boy. 

"Well, I hate to disappoint you son, but you can't be Hansel and Gretel because you're black!"

 Heads hung low, they leave. Not too much later the man hears the bell ring again. This time when he opens the door there stand the two children but this time they are BUCK NAKED.

 "Oh my! And just who are you supposed to be now?!" he asks

. "Chocolate M &M's, " said the little girl. "I'm plain. He's got nuts." 

Advice: One should never get your-self in too deep. Too deep into what I don't know, but whatever it is don't. Don't nose dive either. 

****


	29. Chapter Thirty

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. **

**Pairings: Oh, lovely, we've got ourselves a triangle. Noooo, wait, it's better then that. It's a freaking rectangle!**

Disclaimer: Lesse, I am about as poor as dirt, the kind that's not very good for growing crops or anything for that matter. Poor white dirt, there we go, that's what I am. : looks at pale, nearly see through skin and sighs.:: Seeing as how I haven't got a dime to my name, I couldn't possibly own GW or SM. 

**Summary: **

**Thank you, I like to think that this is a cool story. Some parts anyways. **

**WAIII!! Sweet! I have a not-really- long lost sibling. How cool is that? And no, that's not sarcasm. Hehe. Don't believe me do you? **

**So….I just hooked you? What are you a fish? Just joking, hope I didn't tick you off. Glad you like it so much. ^_^. **

**:: Sticks tongue out and pulls down eyelid.:: Neah! I so am not scared of you. So ha! I meant whatever, insanity, sanity, normality and so on. And dear, late for me, never came. My insanity is genetic. Think of that for awhile then pity me. **

**Heero would make a nice elf I think. So why not? It was my story. And it all works out. **

**Yes. You are right. Jeeze, I guess I'm loosing the whole mystery touch. Ah well, it's for the best. ::sniffle::**

**Hey! Enough with the sarcasm, Jesus you choking me. ^____^. ::Counts voices.:: No, I have them all. You must have gotten your own somehow. Eh.  :: Watches mutely as Wufei and Heero go berserk on Aeolus. Then valiantly jumps in and saves the day using the wonderful powers of the Writer™.::  Of course I made wufie a pear. Can you see him as anything else? Like a strawberry? I'm not even going to say banana because well, that's not right. :: Mutely hands over "Most irritating, annoying and sarcastic reviewer" award.:: Enjoy. **

**:: Is watching Squirrel's rampage with dazed awe, still listening to music. "Wow. The anger, The form, the power…the acorn projectiles. How delectably destructive." Ducks an acorn and squeals when something pink flies at her.:: Of course your not short. Chances are, your are most likely taller then I am. And if not, then you are merely vertically challenged as am I. **

**Hullo, Sarah, mah dear. Sank yoo. And god, you know what? You need to stop gushing compliments at me. My ego's getting bloated. Meh. That and you are too smart. :: sighs:: Every one is starting to figure me out? Oh, woe is me, that I loose my mystery. Hey, that rhymes. Neato.  We'll find out more about Serena/Relena/ Darien's relations next chapter.  And I may have lied when I said two or three. It may end up being more. My imagination is demanding a LONG story. **

**I know I am evil. Tis fun. Though, not really smart in the area of career choices. And I am glad to receive the honor of Hilarity. Weeee! **

**I would ask you to please keep any sharp needle like objects to yourself and away from me. ::Shudders.:: I HATE needles. They drive me crazy. Crazy? I was crazy once…..**

**I'm writing it up as fast as I can. Here you go though, the next chapter. **

**We finally find out what Heero means by 'Tell you everything.' That and we get one hell of a flash back. Beware the memories. Wooooo. Creepy.  **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

**Chapter Twenty-Nine. **

Primal urges are the key element in many of a humans, or elf's or anything for that matter, decisions. Mostly, we go by logic, but more often then not, we go by instinct and feeling. Which usually returns us to the primal urges. 

Well, right now, that is exactly what Wufei, or the pear, was going by at the moment. He had shoved logic out a seventy story window to a painful death and had happily gone berserk. The funny thing was he couldn't remember what it was that the braided fruit, now quite literally, had done to provoke. All he knew was that he was seeing red. And it had nothing to do with the fact that Duo-the-apple was red.

Seriously. 

He wasn't even paying attention to whatever else was going on at the moment. Nope. 

Which may have been why he didn't see Serena right in front of him. Now, how in hell had she done that? He was right on Duo's braid. _This_ close. 

Hence, when he found himself suddenly pasted to her chest, there was no small utterance of curses fit to burn the ears off any seasoned sailor worthy of the title. 

Why did this always happen to him? It was so _not_ funny. 

Serena was either highly annoyed, or positively glad for the distraction from the seriousness. She'd never handled that very well, the seriousness that is. But still. This was just ridiculous. Her left eyebrow twitched.

With carefully restrained movements, she plucked Wufei from his past-it spot and flung him away from her trying to control her urge to rip the little guys wings from his back and then boot him out the window. 

Damn Fairies. 

Plural. Now, where was Duo hiding? 

As abruptly as she had thought that, she was thrown into a memory.

_She was in a clearing, in the forest by her summer home. The sun was warm against her back as she hid behind a fallen log at the edge of the clearing, on small, dirty hand covering her mouth in the attempt to keep the giggles imprisoned. _

Heero's voice, disembodied, spoke to her as she was plunged back into the past. "You were playing hiding seek with your mother, waiting for a friend. Serenity had wanted to surprise you with this." 

_Further out in the clearing a woman, a goddess of a woman, stood and smiled brightly. Strapped to her back was a quiver of arrows as well as a large bow. The woman cast her startlingly sliver-lilac eyes about the clearing, searching for something. Or someone. _

_The little girl, golden haired, blue-eyed cherub that she was, peeked over the log and ducked just as quickly as the woman had nearly spotted her hiding place. She bit her lip hard enough to quit her for another bought of giggles were tickling her throat .  _

_The woman's voice floated over the clearing cheerfully, " I know you're out there Sere, and I'm going you find you."  She was baiting the child, and it would have worked; had the child have been stupid. But, Serena was quite the clever little child. She knew her mother was trying to get her to flag her position to her by shouting back 'No you're not!' _

_Instead, Serena slinked backwards on feet that made no noise. An elf's trait that she often employed in emergencies such as raiding food from the kitchens the fleeing the cook's formidable weapons. Like the spatula. _

_It was then that the nightmare began._

" You had that feeling, but didn't know what it meant and instead  ignored it and continued to play the game. Neither you or your mother heard them come up till it was too late to flee."

_She heard the arrow, not her mother's, fly over her head and gave a shrill squeak, ducking for cover. Wide blue eyes peeked out from behind the tree she was using as a shield and saw her Mother draw one of her arrow's and shoot a man squarely between the eyes. _

_She felt faint and covered her mouth, eyes going even wider in shock. Her mother…has just killed a man. More arrows flew, both her mothers and hidden enemy's. The woman herself was fierce, planting herself between her enemy and where she knew her child was.  _

_"Come out and fight, cowards. Don't hide from me." The woman's voice was carried, and Serena cringed where she hid; that voice was harsh. Her mother had never sounded that way before. Serena was scared, and confused. What was going on? Why were they attacking her mummy? _

_From the tree's a tall man, an ugly, scared man emerged, crossbow trained upon the woman who stood defiantly, chin lifted in royal arrogance. _

_The man chuckled, "Well, look'it 'ere men. An elf bitch. My, what luck." _

"What your mother didn't know was that her 'husband'," his voice was a low growl, " had plotted to kill her because he'd found out the truth." __

_Serenity, her mother, merely lifted a pale silver-blonde eyebrow. "Luck? You fools." _

"But, your mother was no idiot. She had figured it out. How could she not? It was obvious the men had been sent by her husband." Again the snarl on the word husband; coloring the word with disgust. 

_Serena was appalled that her beautiful, kind mother had been called such a vile, and base word. Her mother was not a bitch.  _

_ The thought was cut off suddenly when her mother turned her head, her eyes finding Serena's easily. They conveyed the message well enough. _

_'Run, fetch help. I have no more arrows. Just run, I'll be all right.' _

_Despite her mother's reassuring gaze, Serena knew somehow that her mother would not be all right. It was gut instinct. _

" You never ran. You were too young to know what exactly was going on, and were, in some way, too curious."

_And it proved too true. For in that next instant, an arrow bloomed from her shoulder, just over her heart and sent an arc of blood shimmering through the air. Her mother's scream, cut the child from the horror of what her eyes had just seen and Serena scuttled back into the safety of the tree's shadow. She hadn't the power to move any further then that. _

_Though she may not have been watching, her ears heard the sound of ripping cloth, sounds of muffled shouts and then the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Then all was silent._

_Scared, absolutely terrified of what she would see, but still hopeful that her mother had somehow made it out alive, she peeked around the tree cautiously._

_She saw nothing at first, merely torn articles of what had once been her mother's dress, because the tears in her eyes prevented it. What she saw next was her mother's beautiful silken hair; the pride of her mother and envy of the court ladies that her mother and she were often stuck with. _

_That was all she was allowed to see before the men were moving towards her. They had seen her. _

_Primal instinct took over, and Serena took off into the forest like a frightened rabbit. _

_It was dark, before she had ventured back towards her mother and found the body. _

_Serena was sure she had wanted to die right there, not that she had known the meaning of death yet. _

" And that was how I had found you, curled next to her. I had promised to avenge you and your mother, and I did." 

Serena was released from the memory, her eyes clearing before they fluttered shut. Trowa caught the comatose girl, no- elf, before she fell. Cradling her slumped form against him. She was breathing hard, in shallow gasping breaths. He could feel her frantic heart beat, and tried not to think of how close she was. 

Stroking her hair gently, he kept her close then looked up at the other man in the room. 

"So. You are her father?" 

End Chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

:: Gasps and wipes sweat from brow:: I finally finished the dang chapter.  I could just smack myself for the long wait that I put you through, but I had to figure out a way to work the whole flash back thing right to get the desired effect. I wanted it to be more then a regular flashback sequence, and I think I may have succeeded a little. So, what do you think? 

Joke: The Pope was finishing his sermon. He ended it with the Latin phrase, "Tuti Homini" - Blessed be Mankind. A women's rights group approached the Pope the next day. They noticed that the pope blessed all Mankind, but not Womankind. The next day, after His sermon, the Pope concluded by saying, "Tuti Homini, et Tuti Femini" - Blessed be Mankind and Womankind. The next day, a gay-rights group approached the Pope. They said that they noticed that he blessed man kind and woman kind, and asked if he could also bless gay people. The Pope said, "Sure". The next day, the Pope concluded his sermon with, "Tuti Homeni, et Tuti Femini, et Tuti Fruiti." 

( I hope this hasn't offended anyone in anyway, and if it has then I am SO sorry.)

****Advice: Maybe, you can protect yourself from pain by closing your self off from others, but by doing that, you also close yourself to all the wonderful things there are, like love and friendship. So, open yourself up and take it all in. Remember that a soul is always stronger then what happens to it. 


	30. Chapter Thirty One

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. **

**Pairings: Oh, lovely, we've got ourselves a triangle. Noooo, wait, it's better then that. It's a freaking rectangle!**

Disclaimer: ::Glares around, before grumbling to self about bloody morons making her commit self mutilation by saying outright that nothing belongs to her and ripping away precious fantasies of ownership. Can't a whatever-it-is-I-am dream in peace? Jeezus. :: So, I may not own the Characters. I may not own the Beauty and the Beast thingy. BUT I SURE AS HELL OWN THIS STORY!!!! MUUUAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAH!!! And that means that I own the theme, the storyline, the plot, the whole insane shebang. I was ORIGINAL!! It's all mine. MINE!!!! ::and it seems that Silver had finally lost all her multicolored whatchamacallits. Sanity maybe? ::

**Summary: **

**:: Returns from the betting booth where she had bet a good sum in Squirrel's favor counting the cash she had won. Smiling happily, she sits herself back in her place at the for of the judges table and waits for the crowd of pink, purple and other pansy colors haters to calm. After a few moments, she gives up the wait and produces a microphone. With a cheeky grin, she turns that volume up on megablast and eyes the crowd calmly enough. Then…"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!!!!" Silence befalls. Which is of course broken by Silver's insane laughter. "MWAHAHAHAHHAHAHHEHEHEHO—whooo, you shoulda seen the looks on your faces! Anyways, Squirrel wins, but of course was there any doubt? Quite the style, quite the style."::**

**:: Nods sagely:: I like to believe that I am wise beyond my years. And yes, Wufei is rather unfortunate. But, we'll see what he gets at the end of this story. ::Whimpers.:: I'm sorry! I don't mean to be cruel….it just happens. :: Squeezes imagination while gushing at the cuteness that is Cammy.:: Oh, I wish my doggy was a puppy again.  Of course laughter is good for you. It's better then crying. Unless you laugh so hard you do cry…but that's beside the point. ::Pales.:: Clowns?!! ::screams then runs away.::**

**I will grant your wish and kill him off. Somehow. Sometime. Just not now. **

**::Is scared for the rest of her life after even thinking of Aeolus dancing.:: Your right about the whole Trowa-Heero and Serena theory. As for the others..I haven't got a bloody clue. I lost track of them somewhere around chapter 15 I think.**

**:: Is examining hands, while chewing her bottom lip.:: I don't have any nails. :: Stares down at dead person and blinks.:: Shocks a killer…yup. **

**The second greatest question of all time is answered. The first one being Was Trowa gay….. That and this finally becomes a love story. Even though I am still a little peeved about it. Heero discovers a few things of his own as well as Serena and Trowa's own little epiphanies. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

**_Chapter Whatever. I give up. _**

I am not going to go through the trouble of stating that this is not a love story. Because, it has somehow, without my notice or consent, morphed it's happy little self into a sap story. And, to think, I vowed never to get into _that_ department of writing. I was quite good at angst, but now all of a sudden here I am, passing on the Love conquers all bit. 

The clowns made me do it. 

The world waited with baited breath for the answer to this one paramount question. This one tiny question that could very well mean any number of things. Like, that that moronic peon that had the gall to sell of his own children to save his scrawny no good hide, was not actually Serena's old man. Or that the bought of Jealousy Trowa's been dining with were not at all necessary; boy would _he_ feel stupid.

It could also quite a few more things. But I wont get into _that_. The clowns can't make me. 

So, it waited. And waited, then it had to breath again. Then it tried again.

Heero mulled over whether or not to answer now or allow Serena the chance to recover from the shock of having her head picked apart and long buried memories being ripped to the fore. He was not interested in having her faint, especially in the position she was in at the moment; Trowa would only be too happy to have her there for a lot longer. 

It had taken him such a long time to find her again. That pansy of a 'father' was hardly qualified to raise a child much less three. That and when he had found out that Heero knew of what he had done to his wife and nearly tried to do to his child, he had fled. A good portion his money had been used to pay Serenity's assassins, what was left was used to pay for the escape. 

The man was a damn coward. Clever, but a coward nonetheless. 

I second that opinion. Not the clever part though. I happen to think the man is mentally challenged. Back to your scheduled story. 

No, Heero decided, she had lived in the lie long enough. The truth will set you free and all that jolly-lolli-pop crap. 

Serena shivered, a pressed herself further into the safety of Trowa's arms somehow still mindful of his wound. What could she say? It was talent. That and she had no desire to be ousted from her cozy little niche. Not only was it safe; he smelled wonderful. 

That was a bonus. Merely a bonus. 

If there was one word that could describe how she felt in its entirety, it had to be 'Bleg'. Yes, that did it perfectly. That and 'ugh'. Ugh and bleg, wonderful vocabulary Serena, really. Marvelous. She sighed and closed her eyes. Don't break down, don't even think of breaking down, no crying either. So the mantra went, with a few breath in and breath out's strewn in there for insurance. 

Wouldn't want to suddenly keel over now would she? Not that, considering where she was, it would be a bad way to go. 

"Yes, I am her father." 

Low blow; whatever wind Serena had was knocked out of her with dizzying swiftness. She'd put two and two together and figured that he was of some sort of blood relation to her, but her father?

Yikes.  

Who saw that one coming? I swear….  Ooh! Chocolate. Yummy. 

Heero felt the relief that she hadn't passed out, and he allowed himself a small smile. She was a tough girl; He was proud of her. 

Pause. He'd never been proud of anyone before; it felt strangely pleasing. Swelling up within him and acting somewhat like an endorphin. How intriguing. 

There was also the feeling that he would be feeling more such feelings as he got to know his daughter. Just then, the reality really sunk in and he was floored- figuratively speaking of course. His daughter. Daughter. He had a child. One that he had been searching for, for so long. And now, his search was over and here she was. Right in front of him. 

Well, she was in a rather inappropriate position for a lady of such high birth and in the arms of a beast no less. But it was funny, he didn't really mind. He knew he could trust the beast. 

A little blur with a braid whizzed past him, followed shortly by another blur with something like a needle held aloft. No, he thought idly, it was the fairies he was worried about. Especially that blonde one….. the little man had issues. Lots of them. 

Hell, that little guy was a shrink's field day. Heaven forbid Quatre should ever get truly enraged.  

There were a few things that Trowa hated in the world, and one of them was to feel stupid. And, right now, he was feeling like the Idiot. Capitalized. Underlined, and exclamation mark. 

Damn. Jealousy sure got to the mind, he grumbled to himself sourly. And to think that all this trouble had happened only because he had been jealous of the girl's father. Her father! Of all the moronic, quick-blooded….good lord. 

The girl was going to be the death of him. 

End Chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 I ran out of material for this chapter. But, I think you'll be glad to know I have come to a decision . Somebody reviewed and asked about Milliardo, or Zecks or whatever he wants to call himself…. Well, My mind pinwheeled off with that concept and thus a whole new idea has been born. There will be a sequel to Burning Roses. Fabulous yes?

Of course. 

Joke: To laugh is like eating chocolate. Laughing is like a natural endorphin. It's great. So laugh dammit and enjoy a box of chocolates while you're at it.  

Advice:  If at first you don't succeed, give up. No use making a damn fool of yourself.  


	31. Chapter Thirty Two

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. **

**Pairings: Oh, lovely, we've got ourselves a triangle. Noooo, wait, it's better then that. It's a freaking rectangle!**

Disclaimer: ::Glares around, before grumbling to self about bloody morons making her commit self mutilation by saying outright that nothing belongs to her and ripping away precious fantasies of ownership. Can't a whatever-it-is-I-am dream in peace? Jeezus. :: So, I may not own the Characters. I may not own the Beauty and the Beast thingy. BUT I SURE AS HELL OWN THIS STORY!!!! MUUUAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAH!!! And that means that I own the theme, the storyline, the plot, the whole insane shebang. I was ORIGINAL!! It's all mine. MINE!!!! ::and it seems that Silver had finally lost all her multicolored whatchamacallits. Sanity maybe? ::

**Summary: **

**In order of questions. It will be I hope. The solid kind. Fine, don't gine. S'not mine to worry over. I think you would, choke and then keel over. And I think that that's right; why are you asking. And last…:blinks then holds head in hands and starts muttering to herself.:: I'M CONFUSED!!!!!**

**Glad, no ecstatic that you like this story. It's my baby. Well, for now. Eventually whatever fic I write next will be my baby. Such is the way of succession.**

**:: Smiles gleefully.:: I never knew that my story had that kind of effect. I've been told that it can keep a drunk occupied for hours but I've never been damned for making someone grin before. Odd feeling really.**

**:: Stares:: What am I ? A chapter spewing spewy thing? But yes, I will kill him off. I have decide he will Die ( DIE DIE DIE!!!!!) in the sequal for there is a purpose yet to be fulfilled by the little pansy pawn.**

**::Blushes with over dramatic modesty.:: Gosh, I just adore people who love my fic. I feels all warm and fuzzies inside. (the Horror) Your welcome for the review, and I really want to see what you can do with that story. Burning Roses was also just a lark for me. I never really though it'd get this far. Scary isn't it? And most of my drawings take me months to complete, not because I am slow, just because I want it all to be perfect. I hate being a perfectionist, really I do. That's funny, I'm not wearing any shoes…:: Trails off, then squeaks:: Please do not kiss my feet. I couldn't take that kind of worship. I'd die from the shock and embarrassment.  **

**:: Is laughing insanely at the though of two guys having to stare at 'nother guys bum.:: Ah, yes. Making fool of of self is quite entertaining. I do it all the time. Tis great amusement. It also  annoys others. That great fun too.  :: reads the word shots and goes into narcoleptic shock.:: Getitawaygetitaway. Needles bad, Needles very bad. Needles bad….:: starts rocking::**

**I just love being Ironic. It's such a rush. The funniness and the romance aint too bad either.**

**Your welcome dearie. Want a cookie? I didn't do anything to them I swear.**

**Ha! I win, pay up! :: Holds out hand after winning whatever contest that Squirrel and she were playing. Is trying not to freak out because there are clowns thirty feet away and all are decked out in pink gaudiness. Tis horrifying. Suddenly turns to the tree and points the FINGER OF INCRIMINATING DOOM™ while speaking in an accent:: Yo, Tree! Yes you. Your mother was an aardvark and your father was a….. well, I'm thinking something very bad right now, I will not say it. So, wanna make something of it? I could always use some extra paper. Wha's BS. I'm feeling rather ignorant at the moment. Is it what I think it is?**

**Aww, the two love birds confess their feelings. Wonderful. Not to mention three little fairies get more then they ever wanted when they eavesdrop and get perverted thoughts as a result. Sick, twisted little fairies…**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

**_Chapter Whatever. I give up. _**

Night had once again plunged down upon the enchanted castle like so many dark things with sparklies strewn about in it, leaving the exhausted inhabitants to nightly rituals such as sleep and dreaming. Sleeping was really such a marvelous thing…as was dreaming. Ah yes, but we've gone over that have we not? However, one occupant found himself doing something other then sleeping. 

If you are thinking of Heero, you are sadly mistaken. The elf had gone out earlier on his nightly ritual of hunt and kill. Old habits die hard. 

But, if you've guessed Trowa then yes, you are quite correct. He was currently watching Serena sleep. New habits die even harder. 

What a surreal day, he thought running a clawed hand over his face and enjoying the sensation of fur on fur. It was a familiar feel. And very comforting to know something hadn't changed so drastically.  

Hell, a supposedly human girl had become an elf! If that wasn't drastic, he didn't know what was. But of course, she'd been an elf the entire time and had merely been under an enchantment to make her appear human. It had been the castle's magic that had undone the enchantment of her mother's.

What was more, he had been jealous over a man…erm, elf that was his love interest's father. It didn't get any more twisted then that, he was sure. Oh the mortification. 

And, to top the tally, try saying that ten times fast I dare you, said Elf was suddenly gone and he hadn't a bloody clue as to where the petal picker was. What was he supposed to do when Serena woke up and asked where 'daddy dearest' was? 

'Oh, dear me, I don't know where he went to. One second he was there, the next…Poof!' Er, No. He had the feeling that that answer wouldn't sit well with her. Chances were, she'd probably bludgeon him with a spare peashooter hidden god-knows-where on her person. Then give him the Spanish inquisition. 

With a disgusted sigh, Trowa flopped back into the easy chair with a mindless grace. Which isn't to say that Grace itself was mindless, She'd be rather ticked to hear me say that and I guarantee you that by the end of the day any grace I have will be gone and I will be running into all sorts of odd objects. But, I am off subject. 

Anyways, he had just gotten comfy when Serena, blast her, decided to be a witch and wake up. _Screaming_. Trowa literally jumped out of the chair and landed on his side with a grunt, his ears ringing. 

Damn it all. He was in need of some sleep. Was it some unwritten rule that stated in **bold** print that by no uncertain terms could Trowa sleep through _one_ night? Without something waking him up? Gods. Ah, but Serena had screamed. Duty calls. 

He didn't bother to get up. He hurt too much. Chest pains, ear pains, sanity pains, the list went on. So, he merely lay on his side, and growled in such a way that Serena was suddenly paying more attention to him then her night terrors. That and she was praying to the veggie gods for some protection.

She dropped her hands from her face and her head swiveled  towards him. 

"What are you doing?" He asked, blatantly ignoring the fact that he was on the floor and therefore inviting any such attack the hysterical girl might wage upon him. Like say, pouncing on him in the search for safety and solidity in her twisted, warped little world. Not that he much minded, but really; getting the wind knocked from you was not his idea of a hello. 

 But, he did like the way she felt in his arms, and he didn't mean the sharp needles of pain pulsing through him from the arrow wound. That was masochistic; which he was not. She just felt right, nestled there in his arms. Though not sobbing. Which she was doing now. 

"Shhh. Quiet, nothing's going to hurt you. Shhh." Since when did he ever become so soft? Gone from ferocious Beast to a girl's teddy bear. Pfft. He said it once and he was saying it again. She was going to be the fricken death of him. 

Slowly, she stopped her sobs and was only sniffling. Trowa took this as a good sign and plunged headlong into the thick of the problem.

"Now, what's the matter?" He asked, per protocol. It was a rule of some sort that a gentleman such as he must always ask such a _stupid_ question when it was pretty bloody obvious what in nine hells was wrong. 

Serena hugged him tighter then jumped back with a pained squeak. Trowa was beyond annoyed now. What? Was his fur prickly? Had she hurt herself hugging him; he had enjoyed it very much what was her problem?

His annoyance died when he saw that she was eyeing her finger and cursing whatever deity had done this to her. 

Both failing to notice the slightly insane laughter in the distant background of a certain author on speed and other assorted drugs/brain cell killers. Like …fairy dust maybe. There was far too much of that junk lying around. 

Trowa found himself properly contrite for thinking any bad thoughts and immediately rose to her rescue like any valiant gentleman should do when their lady was in the path of great danger. 

Preposterous yes? 

I hope no one slips and breaks their necks on the sarcasm that I am dripping. Really, I can't handle that kind of pressure. Imagine god knows how many readers with broken body parts _demanding_ their refund of whatever's and suing my sad little self, all because I felt like writing something with high sarcastic content. Poor me, poor me, pour me another whisky! Ha. Life's tough get a friggen helmet, All right?

As we were, Trowa gently took her wrist and pulled the hand with the offending sharp pointy object imbedded in pale flesh to his face where he could inspect the damage. Several sounds of great concern and thought grated at the back of his throat, not unlike the ones doctors make when they assess a child's scraped knee even though the damage was merely skin thin. 

"Hmmm." He mused; fully aware of Serena's now wide eyed gaze. Good, her mind was focused on him and not the night terrors. " Yes; we are going to have to chop the finger off."    

Serena gave a fearful 'meep' and tried to repossess her beloved hand from his. Feh, no such luck. She was so gullible. 

Now, can we blame Trowa for this petty revenge of his? No. In fact, I surmise half of you are sitting on your bums laughing it up at her expense. The other half of you are just sitting there picking your noses and doing hell knows what else.. And don't even think of waving that finger at me, you impudent little reader! How insulting. 

So, it should come as no surprise when Trowa pulled her hand to his chest and started to reach for her finger with his sharp talons ready to tear the digit from it's place, that Serena nearly had a coronary. 

Duo and Quatre as well as a positively peeved Wufei where sitting out in the hall minding their own business for once in their nosy little lives when quite the commotion caught their attention. Why, it sounded as though someone where being killed! Or horribly mauled, mangled and then murdered.

Confused, each fairy placed their ears to the do or and listened in. The following is what they heard.

"Hold still Serena, I can get it out if you keep squirming like that."  Came Trowa's growling voice.

Duo's mind was already racing with possible meanings to _that_ little sentence. 

" I can't hold still. That thing hurts. Hurry up and get it _out_ of me!"  

Now Wufei was certain he was hearing things… Aw wait, no wait, your kidding. He didn't just say what I think he did, did he??

"I almost got it. There! See, that wasn't so bad was it? Whoa, that things _huge_!" 

" Of course its huge. It's yours isn't it?" Serena voice's sniffed, a slight breathless quality to it.

Quatre promptly fainted, his nose running with crimson. Duo himself was having trouble breathing. Wufei was merely plugging his ears and flying down the hall as fast as his wings could carry him and cursing all the powers that be. There goes another few pounds to the Head Shrink. 

Back in the room, Trowa was staring at the very large thorn he had just pulled from Serena's finger. Both he and she were quite shocked at the size of it. Serena once again glared at him. 

"It's all your fault." She snapped, indicating the thorn and the fact that it had just been lodged in her finger. Trowa looked scandalized. 

"My fault? How's it _my_ fault that _you_ had a thorn– a damn _big_ one- stuck in _your_ finger?" He rolled his eyes, then pulled her hand to his lips and gently sucked on the blooded spot where the thorn had been. When he finished, he planted a delicate kiss on the boo boo and let her have her hand back. Then, with out so much as a 'By your leave', he had scooped Serena into his arms while she was too shocked to say anything and dumped her back into the bed and climbed in after her. 

At the moment he was very tired and wanted nothing more then to curl up and slip into oblivion. He pulled the blankets over them and settled down with a content sigh. 

Serena was having none of it. 

She scrambled towards the edge of the bed and ….well, actually, she would have made it to the edge of the bed had Trowa's arm not been around her waist and holding her to his chest. 

His eyes still closed, Trowa tightened his grip gaining her attention then relaxed (not that Serena could get away then either- he was stronger then her even relaxed.). 

"Go to sleep. I'll be here. No more nightmares." He grunted out the incomplete sentences, a testament to his tiredness then was quiet. 

Serena huffed and settled down though still very nervous. She didn't like this…actually she did, but that was immaterial, and wanted to … ah, she gave up. Relaxing against his gentle hold she let herself drift on the tides of sleep that the contentment she felt created…..

What the hell!? What am I writing here, a freaking love story? Oh yeah. I am. (Damn, the world is a cold cruel place. I am going to kill those clowns. I am going to kill them slowly. Starting with those flaming noses.) 

…she yawned once, still putting  up something of a fight her rebellious spirit demanding nothing less. 

"You know….what, Trowa. I really love you, but you are…annoying…." Her voice petered off as sleep finally claimed her as it's prize. 

Trowa smiled. Even though he was still sleeping. 

" Love you too," He murmured nuzzling closer to her, feeling very warm and happy in his dreamland. 

Ah, life was suddenly looking great. 

Both were blissfully unaware of what changes the morning held for them, and what shocks were in store. But this story teller knows. And will not tell till next time so off with you. 

End Chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

-Hope that you enjoyed this chapter.-

 I just watched Princess Mononoke, and all I've got to say is….::sugar rush:: MY GOD IT IS SO FUCKING COOL!!!! If you've not seen it go out and rent it! Now. Right now. Because right now, motivation has bitten you in the ass and you are feeling he urge to get up and go get this wonderful movie. You are, because I say you are so go. Now. ::Deep breaths.:: I'll admit the chopping off of limbs was kinda cheesy but it's too damn wicked to just not watch it. Ah, but the animation….whooo!

Joke: If I had one, it'd be here wouldn't it? 

Advice: Never frown, even when you are sad because you never know who is falling in love with your smile. Then again, they could be staring at you because you have something stuck between your teeth.   
  



	32. Chapter Thirty Three

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. **

**Pairings: Trowa/Serena. Even though it's still a triangle.**

Disclaimer: ::Glares around, before grumbling to self about bloody morons making her commit self mutilation by saying outright that nothing belongs to her and ripping away precious fantasies of ownership. Can't a whatever-it-is-I-am dream in peace? Jeezus. :: So, I may not own the Characters. I may not own the Beauty and the Beast thingy. BUT I SURE AS HELL OWN THIS STORY!!!! MUUUAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAH!!! And that means that I own the theme, the storyline, the plot, the whole insane shebang. I was ORIGINAL!! It's all mine. MINE!!!! ::and it seems that Silver had finally lost all her multicolored whatchamacallits. Sanity maybe? ::

**Summary: **

**I have the power!! I can't say I'm sorry for the clif hanger. It worked for the flow of the story, and if I had it my way I would have written on and on and on. But that would be rather cruel, making you wait for a long time.  And tell Wufei that if he wants protection from the monster, then he should keep off with the whole it's all mine crap. Anyways, I say if one has to be obsessed over something then it should be Anime. I love it. And I feel real bad for the forest Spirit, I really think that it should have lived. But I guess their was a reason for his dying. Tell Devil Pup that Silver will send …purple elephants after her if she does anything wrong. It always worked for me. ::Laughs:: Black and blue! Hoot. That's great. And I am quite serious about the Sequel. I'll need help for a name though… And I know I'd go for the chocolate any day. It never gave anyone a STD. Or any other stuff. **

**Here you go. Next chapter. ^__^, Obviously.**

**No, she didn't sprout fur…but, well, you know. Or you'll find out.**

**I love the wolves. Esp. the Goddess. Mora? Or was it Mona? I can't figure it out. I was hanging onto the animation more then anything else. It was fabulous though. The part where Her head…crawls though, kinda weirded me out. **

**Never thought you'd see the day huh? Well, surprise surprise, I am so dang confusing I befuddle myself. As soon as I become fluent in Japanese I will watch it. And Me poor. I no have DVD player.  No, there are never enough questions. Like who pops up the next Kleenex? **

**Ahahahaha. Dude! That is the greatest thing EVER. I love it. But the ending kind of wierds me out. I aint touching no clowns. No way. **

**::Is so completely wired on coffee that she is jumping around. Her eyes suddenly widen and she zips off to the ladies room.:: I am so glad you like the sarcasm. It's me, really it is. Have you noticed that the tone of the story has slowly changed? **

**I don't know if I always give good advice. Whatever works really. I hate the cavities I get from writing all those sappy happy bits. I love having debates with the voices in my head. It's great fun. **

**::Blushes:: I know. :: Flings modesty out the window:: Isn't it wonderful? **

**::Cradles candy and Unicorn happily, cooing to the big pretty wolf, who is blatanly ignoring the fool. Silver sweat-drops.:: Right. Thankies. :: Continues to gibber until men in white coats appear. Silver is suddenly very calm and quiet.:: I have not done anything bad. Today.**

**Okay! We'll collaborate on how to kill those clowns then make sure that we are not associated to the 'crime' That way we don't have to take their place. Where shall we meet?  :: gives Heero and Wufei a death glare fit enough to melt gundanium into butter:: Bugger off. We're plotting the quick and easy way of ridding this world of clowns.**

**::Merely grins at Star-sirens tirade:: Glad you love it. No, you are not perky. Hyper, yes. Perky, I'd have had sent Heero after you. If you ask me, I think that you have issues. So do I? Want to join the club? **

**::Quirks eyebrow at the muffled curses coming from the hall closet. Then grabs a silver pen and some paper and starts writing quickly. Squirrel wonders in, sees Silver writing and thinking that a new story was being born reads over her shoulder. Squirrel blanches. Silver looks up and smiles. " I am coloring my vocabulary. I've never heard any of those words before.":: I thought that's what you meant. I think BS does sound like a fun game. Whee. **

**Love is in the air….ugh. Warning: VERY SCARY CONTENT. DON"T READ!!! QUATRE IS PSYCHOTIC!!!! WARNING.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

**_Chapter Whatever. I give up. _**

Morning came as usual, giving night a good swift kick in the arse and sending it packing. Night vowed revenge but left anyways. Morning always won. It was very clichéd, Night knew. There was no point. Light always won over darkness and all  that junk. Besides. What goes around comes around. 

Aside from the petty battles of night and day, there was a different sort of battle going on, if it could be called that. Well. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it a truce of sorts. 

Oh all right. It was a love confession. Heh, confession; that sort of make it sound like a crime… 

….Speaking of which, where the hell did those three mistakes/fairies/criminals/perverts fly off to? 

Well. As far as mental trauma went Duo was pretty peachy keen and quite happy for a poor helpless little (and I do mean little) victim. Stress 'happy'. Then emphasize peachy keen. And I forgot to mention that his crafty little mind was scheming. Again.

You'd think he'd know better, but alas. If there ever was a fairy so cunning and crafty as Duo, his records must have been burned because I don't know about him. Or her. Or it. 

Now, I have the feeling that you, dear reader, are wondering what exactly he was cooking up. You are not the only one I assure you. 

As for our other little problem fairy, a.k.a. Quatre, well, he was currently planning on ways he could mutilate Duo and not get in trouble for it. There were so many possibilities… one of which included knocking the other fairy out and transporting him, in a baby basket complete with a bonnet, to Relena's room with a note that read "_Dear New mother, please accept this child as he is an orphan and needs the tender loving care that you alone can provide. Sincerely, The place where babies come from. Otherwise known as the Stork. P.S. No refund available."_  

Another one was ripping his spinal cord out via his belly button and using it to flay him. Then there was the plan of playing cat's cradle with his intestines. But, the favorite was knocking Duo's ass out and then shaving his head. 

Maybe he'd keep the braid as a trophy. 

Naturally, Duo wouldn't be bald for very long. What was the ability to use magic if one couldn't manipulate the growing rate of one's hair? And, judging by Duo's mastery of the art Quatre was willing to bet money on the solid fact that Duo would only be bald for about a day or so. But, it would be long enough for the horror and humiliation to work it's own magic on the perky little schemer. 

So it was, that Quatre put his own tricks to the test and made off with a very fine trophy. 

Duo never knew what hit him.

And, Quatre reasoned, the best thing was that Duo would think Wufei had been the one to turn him into a Q-ball. 

The sun was evil. Serena found this out the hard way when said vile thing decided to kill her in the eyes and burn her retinas. Thus, in her knowledgeable opinion, the sun was evil. 

With a small groan of discomfort mixed with a dash of annoyance and shaken well, Serena, our beloved heroine, tried her damndest to escape the over intense perky glare of the sun's radioactive light. She turned over…

…and into something decidedly living and….fleshy?

One hand poked automatically at the object of questionable origin and sure enough the thing was rather fleshy. Her eyebrows arched, and she opened one eye slowly. 

It would probably be pointless to tell you what she saw, because I am sure you have already guessed. And yes, you are correct. Yay for you.

For there in front of her, in all his manly glory, was none other then the male that she had seen in that portrait so long ago. Not that her shocked mind registered this fact. Only several things hit home. These were. Male. Naked. My. Bed. Hugging. Me. Too close.

Serena must have been the very first person ever to break the speed of both sound and light when she leapt from the bed screaming for help. As well as screaming up a few vital organs and assorted arteries. 

The man in the bed jumped from the terror of what had to be the worst possible alarm in the history of mankind. Startled and clearly disoriented he looked around through bleary, but intensely dark emerald eyes before they landed on Serena' beet red visage screaming at the top of a very phenomenal set of lungs. He blinked. 

Probably confused because, well lets face it. After living with extra sensitive hearing for the past 5 centuries one tends to go into a bit of shock when sounds that had been crystal clear before suddenly became muted.

Finally, Serena quieted and settled for just staring at him through eyes wide with absolute mortification and confusion, her mouth working to produce actual words. At that moment she looked not unlike a fish out of water.

"Serena? What…happened?" He asked, then nearly jumped at the strange softness to his voice that had replaced the near constant growling undertone. 

His hands went to his throat and those fabulous eyes of his very nearly popped right out of their sockets to go for a roll. 

"My..my voice.  My…Fur..?!! There's ..what…Serena, what happened to me?" It was then that he also realized that he was stark naked and well, Serena was getting an eyeful, not hat she was protesting. He didn't think that she could, having suddenly catching a disease that turned her mute.

With a startled yip, he had wrapped the sheet about him toga style and had jumped backwards thus putting the bed between them. Both of them stared at each-other over the rumpled bed, one warily the other red faced with some nasty little thing called embarrassment. 

As she watched the emotions swirl through the man's eyes, Serena quickly swallowed the bitter pill of shock. It was no use just sitting there and staring at each-other like a pair or bloody fools. It's get nothing settled and no questions would be answered. Like the one niggling at the back of her through at the moment. That of "Who are you?" specifically. 

Seconds later, her lips acted of their own traitorous accord and the question was out in the air between them. Much like the bed.

The man looked hurt. And Serena felt a pang. He stood up, towering over her and crossed his arms just so. It was a familiar mannerism that Trowa had employed often with her. 

"You don't know who I am." He stated, flatly. Watching her. Very carefully. 

It was at this time that Serena's inner demon decided to shake things up a bit. Literally. 

The man grimaced when Serena scrambled to her feet and stood in front of him, before poking him, dubious revelation shining in her eyes. 

"Hey! Watch it. I still hurt, you know." He grumped, batting her hand away from him. 

Her expression quickly became inquisitive, "Trowa?" Her troubles received a wolfish grin, which still bore sharp fangs despite the obvious humanity that the man radiated. 

She dismissed it and flung her arms around him, conveniently forgetting the fact that he held only a sheet about his waist. 

"Who else?" He asked, wrapping one arm around her as the other was occupied with keeping whatever was left of his modesty together as well as keeping the towel up. 

She just smiled, nuzzling into his arms gleefully.

End Chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hmmph. You kno, I think I've started something. I've been seeing a few Beauty And the Beast things running around ff.net and I have but one thing to say. HA! Boyaah! I was the first! All bow to me!

Oh, god, so sorry the chapter was so short but I've hit a bit of a writers block and this was the best I could do. I've learned through experience not to force yourself to write otherwise it'll come out looking like shit. I don't want that and I am sure you don't wither. As it is, I am not so very happy with this chapter. There are a few good points but otherwise it really whomped. 

Joke: Sadly, I haven't got a joke either.

Advice: Roses are red, Violets are blue, Don't force yourself to do something you don't want to do. Don't let others force you either.  This can be applied to nearly every thing that has to do with peer pressure. So, If someone tell you to jump off a cliff. DON'T do it. It's that simple. 


	33. Chapter Thirty Four

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. **

**Pairings: Trowa/Serena. Even though it's still a triangle.**

Disclaimer: ::Glares around, before grumbling to self about bloody morons making her commit self-mutilation by saying outright that nothing belongs to her and ripping away precious fantasies of ownership. Can't a whatever-it-is-I-am dream in peace? Jeezus. :: So, I may not own the Characters. I may not own the Beauty and the Beast thingy. BUT I _SURE_ AS HELL _OWN_ THIS STORY!!!! MUUUAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAH!!! And that means that I own the theme, the storyline, the plot, the whole insane shebang. I was ORIGINAL!! It's all mine. MINE!!!! ::and it seems that Silver had finally lost all her multicolored whatchamacallits. Sanity maybe? ::

**Summary: **

-I know, writer's block's block is a bitch isn't it. ::Sudden headache.:: Owie. ::Thinks a moment about the next chapter and suddenly block is gone.:: Ah, nitro rocks. And booms. And Heero, leave her alone afore I do something appalling to you in the next chapter. Something with Relena in it. :: is suddenly holding a flag with a demented 'Q' on it. ^-^':: Hehehe. I think that you're right? Have you noticed that in the beginning of this story I was all, happy and nice and junk, now I'm not? Or maybe it was just me, and I'm thinking that I was like that? Who knows. And I didn't mean go find a cliff and fling yourself off it. Yeesh. I'm gonna be charged with homicide. 

**--:: Silver is enjoying the clown/pink free environment with her 'special' friend and manager Squirrel. "Clown Away, anti pink, god you come up with the greatest things." Continues writing, then pauses and stares over at the closet where the tree was, wide eyed. "Now _that_ takes talent!" Scribbles madly. Looks up again, and thinks a moment. Then, taking out a clean sheet of paper, writes something then once more looks up and down the hall expectantly. Moments later, Relena wanders down the hall and hearing the tree, gets the _sudden notion_ [cough,cough] that there is a prince locked inside, opens the door. Silver and Squirrel wince at the total violence that ensues. Squirrel glances at Silver who is looking rather innocent and has a (tarnished and cricked) halo hovering over her head, then looks back at the mangling and siddles away from Silver. Who is polishing her halo absently.::**

**-Trowa, towel, wet. Hmmm. I'd take that over chocolate any day.**

**--I didn't mean to make it a love story! The freaking thing pulled a Heero on me and held me at gun point! Daugh! It's not my fault!! **

**-Yeah, keep awwwwwwing. There's more fluff in this chapter. At the end at least.**

**--Actually, no, I don't have any semblance of a planned plot. I just load it all into my peashooter and take aim at the paper. Then near the end of the story I start tying all the loose ends. And, I'd rather not depend on subtitles, because I want to learn how to speak Japanese fluently. If you've seen my art then you'll understand that when I  get better at story writing and drawing I want to make my own manga. In Japan. Whoooeee. Big dreams.**

**--I thought the chapter was great too! Actually, no, I'm ashamed that I let it get so bad. I'm really bad with writer's block. **

**-Moro? Okay.**

**--And then you say it's Mora. I'M CONFUSED!!! Aiiya, mind twisting. I am _the_ insane shebang. **

**-:: Hauls back and…. Sic's Trowa in beast form at Writer's block, then watches the carnage in morbid fascination.:: Ohhhh, I'm some body's idol/hero/ looker up to person thingy. It's all very new to me. ::Wipes a fake tear from her eye.:: I feel so loved….:: Starts singing Box Car Racer's "I feel So".:: Electrical…..prods??! O_O.**

**--Wicked. I love that word. _Wi-cked_. Ooh, chills.**

**-::Starts bawling like a baby.:: I think I just got minor flame-burnage. I am so sorry. You'll get some bangs in this chapter. ::Whimpers.:: I've never gotten a complaint before…ouch. ::Looks for burn cream, big fat tears streaming down adorable chibi face. ( Now don't you feel _nice_?) **

**Voices? Where? I don't hear anything. Okay, so it's official. Trowa's got voices. Aren't we all proud of him? Trowa just ignored the raging entity and slid out of the screened of room, intent on kissing the living daylights out of Serena. Something he could do know that he had the lips for it. ******

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

**_Chapter Whatever. I give up. _**

For every person there is a different meaning to the word heaven, though the general picture is a bunch of clouds with an angel or two perched on them wearing a sheet and plucking at a harp like there was nothing better in the world (which there is) and watching the puffy clouds float by. This, of course, varies from person to person but this is the main stereotypical idea. 

Well, for one particular man was had been very much a beast just a few moments ago, or maybe it was hours, and very much in need of some proper clothing (after all, he only needed a harp and a puff of condensation and he'd be an angel), the word heaven was spelt S.E.R.E.N.A. 

Yes, I know, he needs to learn how to spell, but please have a heart –don't mind the sarcasm- and consider his feelings, people! The man was completely head over heart over heels in love with 'Heaven'. 

Aren't we all? (No one broke their necks right?)

Currently Heaven was in his arms and holding him tight. She was certainly an angel form above.

There we go with the angel thing again. Heads up readers, it's raining angels.

The only problem was that she would not let go. That and he was _really_ naked. Just about the only thing between them was a sheet and her shift. Five centuries was a long time to go celibate. He was starting to get uncomfortable. And the sheet wasn't helping anything at all! (The sunovaworm!) Deciding it was best that he get her away from him before his 'discomfort' manifested it's self in physical form, he reached behind his head and untwined her arms from around his neck.

Coughing to make his nervousness known, he took a few steps backwards and nearly fell over. He felt way to light on his feet, not as stable as he'd been when he was a beast. 

Serena smiled at him, studiously keeping her eyes on his face showing him the same courtesy that he had shown her when she'd gone bonkers in the towel. His appreciation for this was unfathomable. He also thought she must have been drunk. That was not a natural smile. A drunk Serena was a bad thing.

Quickly scuttling to the screened off bathroom, Trowa somehow managed to procure a set of clothes from the wardrobe as he scampered by.

 Serena was beyond laughter. The screen slid shut behind him and that was all she viewed as Trowa did what he needed to do. 

If there were words to describe what he was feeling as he saw himself, the non-beast, for the first time in centuries, Trowa didn't know them. But shock and elation were the foremost. He still looked as he did so long ago. Though his bangs were longer and they had lost their 'screw gravity-ness', instead just flopping over his face just so somewhat like Heero's only much longer and more cinnamon then chocolate. 

He wanted to slap himself for thinking something so _screwy._

The same eyes stared back at him, darker now…. Trowa's breath caught and decided to stay in his lungs for the winter. His eyes, they were still slit-pupiled as they'd been before…. Half way between anger and shock, he pulled his hands up to his line of vision and found them to have sharp claw like nails. Still unsatisfied he reached behind him to find out if his tail was still there and found it gone, which accounted for his lack of balance. Once more, he lifted his hands and directed his attention to the mirror. He pushed back several strands and locks of hair near his ear, and found to his absolute shock –which he was real intimate with by now- them to be pointed. Not as elegantly as Heero's or Serena's, but more sharply curved. 

He blinked. Twice.

Then let out a string of curses (thanks to a certain tree…) that would have given any battle-scarred priest a heart-attack, a coronary and a freaking stroke in quick succession under his breath as he pulled on the breeches.

He cursed his stupidity with scorching words never before heard in that particular order ever before. 

Over five centuries as a beast, of course he wouldn't turn back into a human so simply. Chances were, he'd never be human again (That and he noticed he had acquired quite the colorful vocabulary, obviously he had had too much time on his claws, er, hands).

'_But as a human, you would have died. Serena would have continued to live, look as young as she does now even as you grew into an old foggy.' _A cocky little voice stated smugly. Trowa's clawed hands twitched as that fact was thrown into his face like that.  

Foggy? Trowa decided that he hated the voice. 

'_Hate me all you want, but you know that I am not lying. So, neah heah.' _Unknown voice sniffed disdainfully then commenced laughing like a demented badger. He had the distinct impression that this voice was sticking its tongue out, and wagging a finger at him.

Trowa, with his shirt half on, sweat-dropped. 

Why did he have to deal with such _lunatics_? 

Duo, Quatre –especially Quatre- Wufei, that vampire(who was ashes to ashes, dust to dust now), a few other nameless entities, then Serena and Heero, now he was hearing voices! 

Good lord. 

As calmly as anyone could be, considering the situation, Serena perched on the edge of the bed and twiddled her thumbs waiting. 

I'm sure you know whom she was waiting for but just to clarify; she was waiting for Trowa. Her soul-mate, as it was. Unconsciously, one hand reached up and felt the tips of her ears as she thought of everything that had happened to her in the past seventy-two hours. 

It was all so mind-boggling!  

Dude, it's just like reindeer trying to make a pyramid*! Er….._that_ came out of the blue and/or yellow. 

That and she couldn't believe that the man she had believed to be her father wasn't. She had loved him, _trusted _him….well, sort of anyways. But still, she'd been dependant on him no matter how bossy he was. 

Fat lot of good that did her. The greedy bastard. One question though? Why did he have her mother killed? Serena decided that the best person to ask would be the fake himself. 

She sighed, and rubbed her temples. Having to deal with that and Darien was not at all appealing to her, but at least, maybe, she'd have both Heero and Trowa there with her. And Relena. (No, best to keep her confined to her pink-happy-room. There was padding in there. She couldn't hurt herself.) 

Heero…so, should she start calling him daddy now? And speaking of which, Serena remembered how someone, Heero perhaps for it certainly could not have been her father carrying her to bed as she'd once told Trowa. She just wanted to make sure….oh, Jesus, this was all so tiring and confusing. 

While Serena was figuring ways to figure things out, Quatre and Duo were dealing with their own issues. Well, more like Quatre was watching Duo deal with separation anxiety as well as acute loss. Why? 

Heh, because Duo was as _bald_ as a baby's bum. 

Another issue was that they were slowly growing. Duo hadn't noticed it yet, what with all his spazzing-out. But Quatre, who was rather proud of his soft and silky full head of hair had, and was rather leery as to what it meant exactly….

Especially seeing as how Trowa had been injured. For all they knew the beast could have croaked and kicked the bucket. Or, by some not-so-small-miracle, Trowa had managed to become human again. Which, coincidentally, meant that a certain female had to have told him she loved him and he had returned those feelings. 

Jealousy reared it's happy little self and started pricking at Quatre's heart whispering _bad_ little nothings to him. Quatre snarled silently, afraid to gather Duo's fleeting attention. 

Suddenly, he sighed and shook his head. What was with him lately? PMS or something? Good lord, he hoped not. He sincerely hoped not. 

When they reached a foot in height Duo finally noticed that he was growing. His hands still over his baldness, he looked behind him to see that the wings were still there and were growing with him, instead of shrinking. 

Whoo, he thought, what a relief. Concentrating, Duo imagined his hair back to its regular length. With moments, his hair had reached four inches and he had his bangs back. In a minute, it was to his shoulders. It continued to grow at paranormal rates.

That ladies and gents was were the idea for Rogaine came from! The first ever advertisement for it too. Behold, magic exists even today. Scientists just wanted to be unique and called it science, then build machines to contain it. Unfortunately, they don't work half as great as the real thing.  And potions, don't even get me started on them. 

Finally, Duo had a luxurious head of hair and was looking quite pleased with his handy work. "There you go baby, daddy's here. I missed you. Yes I did." Duo cooed to the despondent hair, while said hair just…sat there. Looking for all the world like….hair. Which it was. So why the hell am I trying to give the hair a freaking personality? 

I must be on crack or something….ye gads. 

 Or maybe…speed? Nah, something weirder. Ah, who the fluff cares? Anyways.

Oh floof, Quatre humphed and crossed his arms to sulk as his eyes took in the sickening sight of Duo gushing to his hair like some macabre father. It was just so….so…UGH! 

What kind of _freak_ talks to his hair anyways? 

Well, freaks of the future talk to their cars….but that's off the subject. I keep doing that. I bet you all want to shut me up right? Duct tape, yes? You know, I have a thought. And this thought is that duct tape is like the Force. It's got a light side and a dark side, and it sticks things together. Alright, alright, I'll shut up. You don't have to yell, it hurts my ears. Meanie. 

It was only by the strength of Trowa's will that he did not start freaking out right there. And, believer you me, he has a _lot_ of will; five hundred years can do that, you know. 

Voices! He was hearing_ voices_. One voice, if one wanted to be technical, but it was a voice naetheless. 

It figures that he'd snap right when he was beginning to turn human; go bonkers. Yes, that was just his luck wasn't it? Ahh, but then, it made life all the more interesting if not a bit of a pain in the ass.

Abruptly he started chuckling at his sudden change of mind. 

'_Yeah, yeah, laugh it up you ingrate.' _The voice snapped in annoyance. '_Honestly. Why do I even _bother_ trying to help you people? Mindless _Peons_. Ungrateful wretches the lot of you.'_

Trowa just ignored the raging entity and slid out of the screened of room, intent on kissing the living daylights out of Serena. Something he could do know that he had the lips for it. 

'_Ugh, I think I'm going to hurl.'_

The voice was merrily ignored. Again.

End Chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

*-the reindeer comment was about that new cartoon thingy with Adam Sandler in it. You know, Eight Crazy Nights. I just kinda thought it was hilarious, thank you. And it was very random.

 That, and there is the matter of the next chapter. Don't worry, I'm not going to drop the nuclear bomb and tell you there wont be one. It's just that my grandpa has come to visit and I am not sure how long it will take me to get the next chapter out. Rest assured that I will try to get it out soon. ::Sweat-drops:: Whenever soon is….mou.

 But, see? I made this chapter longer to make up for the last one's sucking of arse-ness. Forgive me?  

Joke. (this really happened between me and a friend. Hey, FRIEND, if your reading this, you know who you are. I just got a hoot out of this and decided to exploit it.): ::Silver walks towards Friend, waving a pack of chewy starbursts.:: This, this right here, is my salvation. This will keep me alive. ::Opens it:: Ah, bliss. ::Hands one to Friend.::

Friend: Become the starburst, be one with the starburst, _breath _the starburst.

Silver: ::Swallows the one she was chewing, while starting oddly at Friend, though she really had no room to talk.:: Yeah, and the next thing you know is the thing's stuck up your nose and you're flailing and saying, "I can't get it out, It's wedged in there." I'd rather eat it, thank you. :: Continues to open her strawberry one while Friend laughs like a demented badger. Silver soon cracks and joins her.::

Advise: Don't get intimate with Starbursts? ::Scratches head.:: I had a good bit of advise but….easy come, easy go; you know? …..Ah, yes, now I remember. Perhaps the greatest gifts you could ever give someone, are things of the heart. Like a smile when they are down, a shoulder to cry on, something steady to lean against when their world has been turned upside down, making them laugh when all they want to do is cry, and loving them with all you have just to prove that they are worth it. 


	34. Chapter Thirty Five

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. **

**Pairings: Trowa/Serena. Even though it's still a triangle.**

Disclaimer: ::Glares around, before grumbling to self about bloody morons making her commit self-mutilation by saying outright that nothing belongs to her and ripping away precious fantasies of ownership. Can't a whatever-it-is-I-am dream in peace? Jeezus. :: So, I may not own the Characters. I may not own the Beauty and the Beast thingy. BUT I _SURE_ AS HELL _OWN_ THIS STORY!!!! MUUUAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAH!!! And that means that I own the theme, the storyline, the plot, the whole insane shebang. I was ORIGINAL!! It's all mine. MINE!!!! ::and it seems that Silver had finally lost all her multicolored whatchamacallits. Sanity maybe? ::

**Summary: **

**No, I uh, could not tell. Really, it was so not obvious. **

**::Stares at the crazy one in shocked awe.:: So that's where Luna went. Mystery solved. **

**I know, I love my humor too. I'm just surprised no one's threatened me yet….**

**I think any girl loves Trowa's little problem. We all have voices, or if you don't ( I Do) you talk to yourself anyways. And if he does, or should that be when?, go naked then there had better be a camera in the vicinity. I think Duo took on a bit of my own loopy personality, on my good days that is. Hence the reason I'm puzzled no ones threatened me with a pinkful death. ::Shudders at the thought then looks aver shoulder in paranoia:: I don't really think any one wants to know what the hell is going on in Quatre's head. **

**Every body loves insanity. Without it, the world would not fall down. **

**::Stares at Mr. Pokey then looks up at Blue Moon, with one eyebrow raised. Silver sighs then reaches behind her and pulls out a neat-o scythe. Points scythe then to Mr. Pokey, and then shakes head.:: Say hewwo to my wittle fwiend.  Worry not, THERE SHALL BE AN EPILOGUE!!! HAHHAHA. Erm, yesh, glad that I resurrected your fandom. Really, me be very prouds of myself for that one. **

**Hey, you can't keep it all in without some sort of outlet. It's the reason I got so many voices. I can't keep quiet, so I'll be sitting in class and muttering to one of the voices in my head and the teachers will squawk at me to shut my pie hole and I'll just keep going. It annoys the bejesus out of them. Funny, fun, fun.**

**I do believe that men sized fairies are called fae, or something of that sort. **

**_Dude_****, what the hell was that thing where FF.net was down for the whole day? I nearly _died._ Or was it just my computer?**

** ["If you don't SHUT UP, I'm going to STRANGLE you with your own HAIR, you MAGGOT infested FRUITCAKE!!"] Ahem, there, now that I've got your attention please read. !_!. **

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

**_Chapter Whatever. I give up. _**

If someone had told you that you had a chance at happiness, true happiness, not the artificial happy for five seconds before the pain of reality kicks in, what would you have done? What would you have said to them? Or would you have just looked at them as one might look at a rapid human who is not allowed sharp objects and just walked away slowly so as not to attract their attention.

 I know I would have patted them sympathetically and told them to seek help. Professional preferably.

Trowa on the other hand….well, let's not get into _that_ little issue. However, now, he was inclined to believe whoever was the one that had said true happiness comes to those who wait. For now there was valid proof. And he, by god, had waited. Five _hundred_ years worth of the word.

Thus it was that he threw whatever reserve he had to the four winds to play with as they would and swung Serena's giggling form into him arms to twirl her around. It was a merry moment. Where's the bleeding Kodak camera when you need it, dammit? We got a sap-fest going on here!

I bet you are all expecting him to suddenly get butter-finger syndrome and drop her right? Ah yes, I should stay the bloody hell out of your head eh? But, seriously (don't laugh you! I am perfectly capable of being serious when the need should arise, ingrate.) Trowa was holding her little form much too tightly for something of that like to happen. 

It would also be a waste of both your and mine time to say that Serena was pleasantly surprised. The elf was quite gleeful. 

It makes me sick. I suppose all you are sitting there cooing at it all, aside from the occasional few who are as squeamish as I and are wishing for me to hurry the bloody hell up. All right, fine. I'll not waste any more of _your_ precious time. 

Trowa proceed as he had planned and blah blah blah, it was a bleeding holiday for the romantics of the world. Couples rejoiced, some even got hitched. No big whoop. Serena enjoyed it, and they made like rabbits the rest of the day. 

Ha! Fooled you!….No, not really, I'm just joking with you. You know. Like ha. Ha. Ha. _Haa. _

Anyways, blame it all on my newest voice, not the one _your_ thinking, a different one. It's half the reason Trowa himself got a voice. I had to share the burden. 

Finally, stress that word, the two love bugs came up for some much needed air and between huffed breaths and deep gulps, Serena uttered the most eloquent word that summed up both their thoughts.

"Wow." 

Like I said, eloquent. She is such a fine master of the English language. And, yes my dear reader, that _was_ sarcasm.

All right, I know that I'm not telling you this very well, and for I beg of something akin to forgiveness. I don't do love scenes. They give me the…well, how to put this delicately. They make me want to hurl. Gag, hurl, chuck up my lunch, and then perhaps die.

 I don't know, maybe it's just the sugar overload or something. Though I know somewhere inside of me there be a hopeless romantic. I just need to dig her up from where ever the hell she is. Till then, I'm going to show us all some mercy and leave this part to your imagination for mine has had a heart attack. Right now, I'm running on auxiliary power. Besides that, your imagination can come up with something so much better then what I can write, though what your imagining is not going to happen. Serena does have morals after all. 

They had reached midget sized and Duo had declared it an inter-national holiday. Oh, goody gum drops and chocolate mints. Another freaking holiday. Quatre was too busy with his own issue's such as jealousy, which was still picking at his blood pumping organ like happy and driving him up the proverbial wall, then to the rather disturbing sight of Duo singing to his braid to be paying any real attention to how tall he was now. 

It was enough to make someone go _crazy_. Of course, for our little blonde one, that was too late. His cheese had already slid off the cracker. 

Five seconds passed. 

Quatre's eyebrow ticked, followed by the opposite cheek as he tried valiantly to keep his kind smile in place. 

It only made him seem something of a mental case that children would run screaming from and later admit to their psychiatrists that he had been the reason they had done the bad things they did. It would later be called something like sociopathic rage….I think. See, the question that often triggers this response is "How does this make you _feel_?"

"If you don't SHUT UP, I'm going to STRANGLE you with your own HAIR, you MAGGOT infested FRUITCAKE!!"

 Were Quatre's _exact_ words as he flew at Duo who could only manage a squawk of high alarm. 

As well he should; be alarmed that is. Duo had never born witness to that of a psycho little blonde fairy scorned and kicked to the side then forced to watch as the object of his affections return this thing called love to another man, beast… thing, whatever. Breathe.

Now that he was, he was certain he'd never want to see it again. Ever. 

He certainly didn't want said psycho fairy touching him either. Who knew on whether it was contagious or not? So, Duo took the most logical approach to the situation and flew away like a speeding bullet.  Fear was quite the motivator in Duo's case. Soon, Wufei's shrink was going to have a full house. It was complete madness, I tell you.

As soon as Duo's hair disappeared around the corner, Quatre switched gears so fast it made his ancestors motion sick and with a pleased smile whipped the foam from his lips then sat down to think. He wanted to take a good long look at his life. And then he was going to laugh heartily at the panicked expression of Duo's face when he had thought one of his most trusted friends had gone crazy. Which he had, but that was another story entirely. 

Seeing as how no one wants to get into that detail riddled tale we'll move on.

It felt good being able to do that after so long. Especially after all the torture Duo put him through. After he was done with all this, he was going to find Cupid. He had a whole skeleton of bones to pick with that diapered pain in the rear end. 

Like what kind of sick twisted bastard creates a freaking triangle like this? It was horrible. It hurt. Quatre hated it. Why couldn't he have been the one that Serna loved? Why did it have to be Trowa? 

Before all this curse crap, he'd been best friends with the man, nearly brothers. But now… they hardly said a civil word to each-other.  

Was it too much to ask for somebody to take the pain away? Was it too much to want that somebody to be Serena? Was it too much to ask for true happiness? 

Once things calmed down, Serena and Trowa were sitting down and leaning against each other. It was Trowa that voiced what was on their minds this time. 

"So, what now?" He asked, picking at the little fuzzies on the shirt he was wearing. He was also admiring the way the smooth skin of his stomach was coiled with muscles. It was a nice change from the fur. 

Fur balls and all that.

At his back, Serena turned her head to look at the only clawed hand she could see. After a moment of silent debate with herself, she finally came to an answer that would have to do. 

"How the hell should I know? What? Do I look like some all knowing deity? Just some sort of palm-reading fortune teller who can see the future? I haven't got a bloody cl-mmvph-" 

Trowa, with a smile, dragged her into his lap and silenced her with a kiss that made Serena's toes curl. 

Out on the trail, Heero turned back to look up at the castle's spires for a moment dark eyes a lighter shade that what was the norm, before he shook his head a slight smile tugging at his lips. It wouldn't hurt to leave them for a while, he mused, besides that, he had to go make some arrangements as he was certain Serena would want to get to know her roots. He started walking again, his cloak swirling through the mists behind him till he disappeared into them. Like a ghost…or maybe something worse. 

Death was walking again. But this time, he was not as empty as he had been before.

End Chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Next chapter is going to be the Epilogue. Hopefully it'll be better then this one. And then, I start working on the Sequel. If anyone has any ideas for said sequel I'd be happy to have them. Really. 

You know what really annoys me? Someone setting off a stink bomb in your classroom. Yup. I hate that. Especially since I couldn't get away from the smell. And you know what else? I hate it when someone sprays perfume and the two smells mix together to create one hideous, nauseating stench. 

So, now my nose is bleeding. God, I hate that too. I hate having to stick some tissues up my nose. Fabulous, really. Ugh. 

And I also got the most interesting review(s). In fact, it was so interesting, because it was like a flame, but not really, and it was a demand. I didn't mention it up top because hey, what can you say to " Fuck You @$$ $#!t" ?  

'Why thank-you sir and/or madam , but I pass on that offer. Now have a nice day.'? Uh..yeah, Anyways. Very clever and manipulative if I do say so myself, doing what they did. Caught my attention. Well, whatever. I give up. 

I just do not understand some people. 

Joke: I used to like political jokes, that is until they got elected.

Advice: I don't know what to say right now, I'm very tired. So, maybe I should say…. That Dreams are the basis for reality, as long as you dream things will be okay. 

But that's just kinda screwed up. Right. I'll be going to bed now.   


	35. The Epilogue

*** Burning Roses. ***

*** Rating: Pg-13/ R for some points. **

**Pairings: Trowa/Serena. Even though it's still a triangle.**

Disclaimer: ::Glares around, before grumbling to self about bloody morons making her commit self-mutilation by saying outright that nothing belongs to her and ripping away precious fantasies of ownership. Can't a whatever-it-is-I-am dream in peace? Jeezus. :: So, I may not own the Characters. I may not own the Beauty and the Beast thingy. BUT I _SURE_ AS HELL _OWN_ THIS STORY!!!! MUUUAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAH!!! And that means that I own the theme, the storyline, the plot, the whole insane shebang. I was ORIGINAL!! It's all mine. MINE!!!! ::and it seems that Silver had finally lost all her multicolored whatchamacallits. Sanity maybe? ::

**Summary: **

**Okay, I'm going to try to make all my replies short, so please do not go on the warpath if I am too..short, yeah.**

**Lord knows that nothing good can come from being normal. **

**O_o…..!!! Wow there! I don't swing that way….::whimpers and runs to hide somewhere. Silver is just a little loopy today.::**

**::Stares at all the pink in horror, then starts screaming and curls into a small ball to rock back and forth after all, she is very scared. Is crying. "Pinkisbad,pinkisbad,it'sbad,it'sgoingtohurtme,it'sbad,pinkisbad." ::**

**Sweet! I like that word too!**

**:: Pulls every single dime, penny, quarter and yen from her pockets then grabs the Anti-pink paraphernalia, makes a huge mound out of it then hides under it.::**

**::Blinks at hopeless romantic.:: Oh, guess what! I found my hopeless romantic! She was hiding behind the couch the whole time!**

**Donna worry, I'll be giving Quatre a lovely lass in the next story.**

**Every body loves insanity. It makes the world fall down. Déjà vu, didn't I already say that?**

**A puppy that is scary is truly a work of evil. I swear…:: Pulls out the bigs cats and then goes and hides back under the anti-pink mountain. Think trauma. The puppy's not helping.::**

**I have exams coming up, in Dec. So, I'll be studying like mad. I hate school. And cows are evil, but green cows…::shudders:: Wait, would that make their milk green? O_O!**

**Good luck on that paper, my friend..seriously, teachers are sadistic. It's terrifying.**

**The epilogue, the false ending to the entire insane shebang. Huzzah!**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **

**_Chapter Whatever. I give up. _**

As a very wise story-teller once wrote, "There are no happy endings- because nothing ends." _This_ is not a 'happy ending'.

Believe me, this is entirely too true for this little twisted tale.

I'm serious. And look at you, sitting there just staring at me like I'm some _wacko_. Good lord, now that I feel loved and all….

As I was saying, this is not the end. There will never _be_ an end to this story. Hence the reason it's a fairy tale.  A fairly long tale at that. It'll be passed to others and a few things will change as it goes, to suit that of it's teller. Fairy tales do that, since they have that strange power. But have you ever wondered what happened after the tale was over? Maybe there was something else that was happening, or going to happen that we won't know about because hey, I'm only mortal and I have no time to tell you everything. Perhaps there was something more to the characters hearts then we were told, and we are dying to find out. Maybe there were more facets of this gem that the light had not yet hit. Mayhaps there be a deeper tale to the tale. Who knows?

Maybe there were others involved in the story that were never mentioned because they were not truly important. 

Like say the servants? Where the hell were they, huh? We never saw them. Sure there was the allusion to them, but were they directly mentioned in more then just "the servant placed the food at the table,"? 

No, of course not. Those poor bastards didn't get that type of recognition.

Nor did they want it judging by the way they all ran screaming from the scene. But that's off the subject. And we never saw that. So. Anyways.

What I mean is, this is merely one very long chapter in the book of fairy tales being closed. But yet, soon, you the reader will open another one. And another one, and another…but I think I repeat myself no? 

There will be the past and the future to deal with. Since no tale is complete without them. There will be matters of the heart to deal with, like love, hate, rage…and let's not forget jealousy. There will be secrets revealed and shock to all involved. There will be dangers; what they may be I haven't the faintest at the moment. There will be everything under the sun- well within _reason_ of course. 

You see, I cannot tell you all that will happen. I'm merely the instrument through which the story moves. And from me, it will move to another. And another. Humans' by nature, are fascinated with fantasy. Perhaps it's the untouchable element that is magic that draws us to the tales. Perhaps it's merely a story to entertain us during our boring, pitiful existence as humans with nothing better to do. Or perhaps it's all for a good chance to laugh, to cry….well, laugh more then cry and generally feel good. And if you happen to be drunk(though one has to wonder how you can still be reading this) more fun for you then. And what's more fantastic then a story that never truly ends?

Well….I won't say anything, though I know you, dear reader, have at least one thing on your mind. I don't hold that against you. However, I'd like to remind you that Relena will be needed for the next story, so try not to hurt her too bad. 

 But the story will keep going, and going and going….like some freak energizer bunny on Speed!

It's_ madness _I tell you; _complete_ and utter _madness_. 

End Chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

.   I feel that this is a pitiful epilogue. But, it is the closing of one chapter. Now, I will be dying. I'll resurrect myself sooner or later…but till then…..::Dies with a big smile on her face. One of satisfaction that this long tale was finally giving her the much needed chance to rest.:: 

::Minutes pass and then the stage, or whatever, darkens and Silver's gone. Finally a spot light turns on and we see a very familiar man sweat-erm- standing in stage, eyes wildly darting about. Where have we seen him before…ah! Yes, of course, The Managements lackey. Say hi to the lackey. 

The Poor twit clears his throat and nearly jumps from his skin at the echo it creates. At last he squeaks out a few words that sound a little something like "Sqeackieweakie, meep, ahem..theeeaa.." 

He finally gives up and runs off stage screaming. Someone needs help….. 

The seconds tick by. 

Then we see a man….though he is hidden by shadow, but w can speculate on her he is, seeing as how that wild hair and those cold eyes give him away every time. 

"The Management would like to inform you that there will be a sequel, however it will not be up for a while. As the authoress has three other stories that she was working on –not that she told- and planning. We would also like to point out that she is grateful with all your support and planning something special in thanks. Yay for you. *glare* She wants to thank each and every one of you for all the good praise you have given her and that she will always remember this great honor…etcetera etcetera etcetera. Good night. And please, do not trample the author's corpse on the way out as she will be needing that later. Thank you. Signed, The Management."

The lights go out. :: 


	36. Authors Note

**Burning Roses.**

**Hello my dear readers, how fare ye? **

**I have a bit of good news for you, I fancy to think. You see, I know I did say I was going to take a good medium rest but, well, inspiration kicked me in the ass and gave me a good shake. Needles to say I got on the ball and started dancing. Inspiration is a bossy thing. And, in my case, sadistic. Because it has a whip and it has that kind of power. **

**Thus I am some what bemused to inform you, I have started on the sequel to Burning Roses.  It will be tiled Frozen Lilies.  I'll try to keep you informed via my bio page. **

**And by the way, ye who shall remain unnamed though ye know who ye be, I did _not_ like that pink burial. It was wrong on so many levels. You sick person you. No, that is not a compliment, jeezus.**

**As always I wish to ask for a favor from you all if you feel up to it. **

**If you have any ideas for this story I will gladly try to use them with due credit to you of course. Yours truly is still a little dead in the membrane yet and needs assistance. **

**Thank you all very much. **

**SilverQuick. **

**Er…and if you happen to know where Wufei went to, please return him to the story line? I lost track of him somewhere in Tibet….Damned fairy boy. **


End file.
